Silence
by QQQ p
Summary: Megufu is an ex-gangster in the modern world of Endiness. After the Boss' agent died Megufu is called back into action wondering whether he had any choice in the matter. The Dragon Campaigns are long over and only silence remains in their wake.
1. Donau

Chapter1: Donau

It was a dark evening in Donau. The wind whistled and tin cans blew across the city streets. The quiet roar of magi-wheels could be heard softly over the distant oil lamps. Out to see a cargo ship honked its horn as it came slowly in to dock at the harbor. The lights blurred out across the dark purpled ocean.

Megufu as that was his name was currently walking home. He had a house near the sea and was at this moment making his way back to it. The oil lamps burned above him lighting the way as they always did at night. He passed a flower square where pretty flowers were all arranged into patterns. It was in keep with the old traditions, a touch of greenery with the modern life yet the flowers sagged from the dirt and grime of the city. There was little the constant watering could do for these plants.

It was a true fact that there were less flowers in Donau these days. The mayor of Donau seemed to have much less time for them than previous mayors. He was of course severely criticized for it and it would be a major issue in the elections. Where had all the flowers of Donau gone? True it had many flowers and buildings and universities dedicated to flowers but what had happened since the ancient times where every alleyway had had flowers?

Megufu however didn't care about that. He was a red headed man who walked with a light step. He was handsome enough with deep brown almost black eyes and a solemn cynical attitude towards life. It had grown on him during his old sinister profession. At this moment he was carrying a bag full of spirits and food for the fridge that he'd gotten from the local mega-shop.

He trudged down a dark alleyway where the lamplight was unable to follow him in from the streets. He faded into the darkness where the light dimly travelled across the gaps in between the bricks before finally giving up. Distantly a siren went off from a magi-wheel probably being stolen. Megufu looked up startled but paid the noise little other notice. He was more interested in getting home than someone losing their vehicle.

"Got any change mister?" grumbled a voice in the darkness. A homeless man was wrapped up in newspaper. He held out an empty cup but Megufu didn't stop walking. The man swore and laid back down trying to get to sleep. He pulled a piece of newspaper over his head.

Passing out of the alleyway the sea roared and distantly the sound of an intoxicating disco drumbeat pounded out across the night air growing louder. He walked across the empty road through the parked magi-wheels and entered into his street. Walking tiredly under the oil lamp's light he walked up to his house and taking out the key unlocked the door. Walking in he closed it behind him and locked it.

The street was better than some he'd seen in Donau. The Gehrich mafia were doing well at the city's expense. He'd in the past been on a Gehrich strong street and it had been far too much for him. It had become too much getting bricks through his windows from the drunks and people throwing up on his doorway so he'd moved out to the suburbs. Megufu had never been in the Gehrich. He had been a criminal however. He'd worked for a group far away as a hit man and thief. He'd moved out fed up as many did get with the hard life and constant fear of being caught. He was retired now. That life was over.

Walking into the kitchen he lazily restocked the fridge. He put a carton of milk in its place and some cheese that he'd purchased and then satisfied he walked into the front room. With a yawn he turned on the image-box and sat down with the remote control in his hands. The news flickered on the screen;

"… and has been the case since last year. Duke Albert twelve has said that he has no intention of returning to the Serdian throne. If Democracy in Serdio cannot sort itself out soon without the use of the monarch legal system that has been so long in effect then there is no telling what could happen. The monarchy in Demingrad refused to comment on the issue telling us…"

Megufu yawned and changed the channel. A gymnast appeared in a large stadium running forward she flipped three times and span through the air. Landing she posed raising her hands in the air the crowd cheered.

"And that's another point for Rouge. So far the Rouge school has dominated the Hero's tournament. Sebiji Karina showed great prowess yet again there. As we see in the replay you can see that the movements were expertly precise and fluent as we expect from the Rouge school. Rouge has always won most of the gold medals in this section of the sports events and it looks like its going to be a similar year. Second we of course as you can see there on the score boards is Fletz and third Demingrad…"

He changed the channel again and a large wheel appeared with a fat man and a presenter by it.

"Spin the wheel Mark! Spin the wheel of fortune!"

With a long sigh Megufu switched the screen off and slumped in the armchair. Reaching over to his left he picked up a bottle of spirits off the table and drunk a mouthful before putting it back down. The phone rang.

Tiredly Megufu picked it up.

"Hey Megufu is that you?" said a shady voice in the other end

"Who is this?"

"Virage's the word. The boss told me to give you a ring"

"I'm retired and the boss knows that!" said Megufu into the phone, "I've been retired for three months now so don't you go trying to give me work!"

"Hey! Geez, calm down man. I think however this you might be interested in…"

"I don't think so," said Megufu ready to slam the phone down

"Two million kerbs," said the voice quickly

"What?"

"You heard me. Two million kerbs for this job"

Megufu held his tongue. That was a lot of money.

"I thought that might make you listen. You may be retired Megufu, but that money would set you up good for the rest of your life"

"Why me?" he whispered back

"Because the guy we had in mind got wasted. The Serdian Secret police found out that something fishy was going on and assassinated our main agent. You're the only other person the Boss knows and thinks is good enough to pull it off. You know, there's a lot counting on this Megufu. If you didn't take up the generous offer the Boss would be very disappointed"

"What sort of job?"

"If you want to find out… there's a limo coming round your place tomorrow morning. Get in it… or get out"

The line went dead.


	2. Travelling on the Fast Road

Chapter2: Traveling on the Fastroad

The morning came and Megufu was eating his breakfast. It was still dark but he'd risen early. The image-box was on and he sat in the front room of the house with a tray of breakfast. The shutters were one third of the way up and every now and again he would look out. He spent more time looking out of that gap then at the image-box.

"…In the latest news Divine Bank was attacked today and had several million kerbs stolen. It is presumed that the Gehrich mafia was behind the act but nobody is certain. The chief of Donau police said in a briefing that he would 'bring the villains of the crime to justice'. The criminals used a size three magi-wheel armed with hand held magi-tech devices. One fired a Pellet inside the building but nobody was hurt. The group escaped before police could arrive at the scene…"

He sighed and crunched on some cereal. He didn't really know what he was getting into today. He yawned watching as scenes of the bank robbery and the police investigating the area filled the screen.

"…Yes I'm here at the moment of the scene right now Daria. As you could imagine the blast must have taken out several tiles of flooring inside the building. Victims and witnesses are being given counseling and advice at this moment. Currently police are not letting journalists inside the building and have given us no clue as to when…"

Megufu yawned and closed his eyes.

"… The act happened in the late evening at about 7:00. Eye witnesses say it was near complete dark when the suspects left the area…"

He fell asleep.

The sun lit the house and the world broke out into a strong misleading morning light. The sun was dazzling and across the street two children, a girl and a boy were playing with a water sprinkler in someone's garden. An older boy kicked a ball across the road and tried to keep it up on his knees. Distantly a radio played down the street as someone washed their magi-wheel with a sponge and bucket.

A black magi-wheel pulled up and the boy moved had to move quickly out of the way. It stopped outside of Megufu's house, a long black ominous limo. Megufu's eyes were closed and distantly through the sleep he heard the noise of birds outside, children shouting and the noise of the running engine but he did not pick out its significance. He only did so when the horn sounded and his eyes flickered open. His mouth was open and his cheek was wet with drool. Looking at the shutters he saw the top of the black wheels through the gap. Getting to his feet hurriedly he put a brown coat on and leaving the tray on the floor he unlocked the door and walked outside. He closed it behind him locking it and then hurried down the steps to where the magi-wheel waited below; his hands were in his pockets. The glass was blacked out so that one could only make the dim impression of some dark shape in the drivers seat.

He came to the passenger's door and tapped on the glass. An electric black screen rolled down and an unshaven face looked at him from the passengers' side.

"You getting in?" he asked gruffly, a newspaper in his hands.

"Yeah – I suppose I am," said Megufu reluctantly. Walking down the limo he opened one of the back doors and entered sitting in the back. The car drove on and he sat in the darkness watching the sunny street depart outside.

"Where are we going?" he asked

"We're taking you to Ralaport. Boss wants to speak to you in Bale"

Megufu nodded, "What kind of job is this?"

"Don't know," chuckled the driver, "you think they tell me about these things?"

"I saw that there's been a bank robbery on the news. Do you guys no anything about that?"

"Gehrich has got nothing to do with Virage you know that so to answer that question heh…not much. I heard from a friend that Gehrich wanted to expand its control further into Fletz – or at least that's his theory. Heck what do I know?"

The scenery outside of flower baskets and nice homes passed away as the limo turned onto the fastroad. The Fastroads were vast expanses of road stretching from one city or area to another. When driving on a Fastroad you were allowed to travel at whatever speed you wanted in Tiberoa and Serdio. In Demingrad the law changed in winter to a limit to stop people from skidding on the icy roads.

Farms and wasteland passed them by as they headed on their journey. The dusty ground stretched for miles on either side with nothing but the occasional shack or barren weed. Not so many people lived in the barren lands. Long ago they had been completely empty but that was all changing with F.T. The company named Flowers over Tiberoa had been using magic on the soil so that it was possible for people to live in the once barren parts of Tiberoa. In ancient times over two thirds of the country had been unusable for farming.

Far to the west, which was where they were heading (as Ralaport was on the way), was the Tiberoan University of Magic located in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. The area was well know to historians and professors alike as it was the ancient battle ground of dragoons and Virage in the dragon campaign. A huge conflict was enacted where the old legendary winglies suffered huge losses against the liberating humans. Old texts from libraries told of huge abyss' and the landscape changing itself over night. Rocks floated and strange visions could be seen in the air. All that was a long time ago of course.

Now the magic was slowly dying down there but it was an ideal place of study. There were still the occasional ripples in the air and the rock that thrown up didn't come down quite as soon as was expected. All sorts of magical experiments were carried out. The first major studies of old wingly portal technology had been done there hence the development of Ralaport to the east, which started the construction of portals all over the land. This place was where now they were heading.

The limo stopped briefly in services and Megufu used the toilets. He told the two men that he'd left his wallet and they paid for his meal. He hadn't but he wanted to test the atmosphere. He wasn't in the mood to spend his own kerbs.

As the sun began to set they drove on at high speed down the fastroad. Arriving at Ralaport they got out at a hotel where the men paid money.

"We're staying here for the night Megufu. We'll take the port tomorrow and see the boss"

Megufu nodded and took the room key from the unshaven man. He walked up the stairs and coming to his room walked in and closed the door behind him. An image box was in the room but he didn't feel like using it. Instead he went softly to sleep.


	3. Unretired

Chapter3: Unretired

Ralaport was a large place. It was in itself a city although it wasn't classed as one. People had moved in from all over the place as it had created a lot of new jobs. Business had sprung up all over the place as the area had grown until it was now almost as big as Donau or Fletz. Nobody had bothered to class it as a city and so it was still known officially as a large town although everyone thought of it as the former. The men after parking the limo in a dodgy garage and having spoken to a man with a front tooth missing entered into one of the main lobbies of the port. They bought tickets from a desk and were lead away by a staff member who lead them to one of the large green ports. The room glowed green with a small point in the middle where all the light and glimmers seemed to meat up. The attendant was dressed in a white lab coat and he told them all to lay down and put their hands behind their heads. This they did on small black benches that were in the room. The attendant left the room and in a flash of green they all disappeared.

Moments later they appeared in similar room with a jolt. The doors slid open with a hiss and a woman in a lab coat entered.

"Thank you for porting with us. We hope you have a nice day," she smiled guiding them through the doors.

"If any of you are feeling light headed or dizzy please speak to our councillor who will look over any problems or aliments that you may have experienced"

Entering a large blue-carpeted lobby they handed their tickets over to the desk man who said, "Welcome to Bale sir," to each in turn.

"It doesn't feel good to be back," replied Megufu. Turning he followed the two men towards the exit. Passing down some escalators and down some corridors they passed out onto a busy road. The unshaven man hailed a taxi and they drove off again Megufu in the back seat with the former driver.

"What's your name?" he asked for the first time

"Revian," he replied with a shrug, "What's the deal?"

"I just like to know names that's all," replied Megufu, "You work like this often?"

"All the time. I get breaks on weekends. I never do anything serious though, you people do that not me – I just drive or help drive. Rikki over there does other things. I've worked with him before and he's done some serious stuff"

"Like what?"

"Oh that would be telling now wouldn't it?" he replied ominously

They arrived at another dodgy garage where they picked up a different limo that was silver and smelt of Pai Smoke. This time Rikki the unshaven man drove and they went through the city streets of Bale. Bale was different to Donau in many ways. For a start there weren't so many flowers. The city was built up a lot more with skyscrapers and large buildings all over the place. The magi-wheels always seemed to drive slower in Serdio and the journey likewise seemed to take longer. They passed down long roads and finally came to Virage head quarters – a large hotel on the outskirts of the city.

The dodgy men checked in and lead Megufu into the lift where they pressed the button for the top floor. Nobody looked them directly in the eye. The noise of the lift hummed and the two men put their hands behind their leather jackets. Megufu waited anxiously examining the buttons on the lift. Two new sub floors had been added since he'd last been here. They both required keys.

Eventually they arrived at the top floor of the building where the two men lead Megufu to double doors – the penthouse where the boss lived.

Revian knocked on the door.

"Come in!" called a dry voice. Rikki nodded to Megufu and the three of them walked in one on either side. The room was bright yet extremely dry. Sun came in through large wall sized windows at the end of the room yet all the other walls were covered with books and paintings. The boss sat in the centre a slim, tall dark haired man in a bright white suit. He stood up and walked across the carpet. He stood in front of Megufu and looked him up and down.

"Red hair?" he asked coldly

"I felt like a change," returned Megufu equally cold, "I was bored of black, so I'm dying it red now. I was… retired"

"Yes…" said the boss with no trace of emotion in his eyes he turned away and walked back to the desk, "I'm sorry about calling you up Megufu. You're good. The plan fell apart when as you were told on the phone, the agent on the job was killed. There was nobody good enough to take his place except you and you were no longer among us. I can't back down on a big job, its one thing that doesn't happen in Virage. I took decisions and decided that you would be the best person to do it…"

"What is… it?" asked Megufu raising his eyebrows

The waved a hand at the two drivers, "Leave us. I trust Megufu well enough"

The two men looked at each other and then nodding left the room closing the doors quietly behind them.

"Watch this," he said dryly.

The boss walked over to a large image box in the far corner of the room. Taking out a tiny green cube from his pocket he inserted it into a slot. An image came on screen and Megufu came closer. He walked passed the desk and came to stand near but not too near the boss.

"Scientists and experts all over Serdio were today confounded by the discovery of a strange rock. Over the mountains of the lime stone caves a fisherman who fished in one of the small rivers that flowed through the mountains discovered a strange black rock. The rock which was handed over to geologists and eventually top-notch scientists was not identified but seemed to have strange fields of energies round it that could be detected using scientific equipment only. The unidentified rock was taken to the Black Tower in Kanzas the head of magical research in Serdio. There tests will be beginning on it right away to determine exactly what it is. So far the energy detected in the rock is enough to equal that of four city blocks…"

The boss turned the screen off. He turned slowly to look at Megufu with a glint in his eye, "I want it"


	4. Mindnumbing

Chapter4: Mind-numbing

The job was theoretically simple but Megufu knew that it could go wrong at any moment. He had been out of work for three months and hadn't expected ever to work again. The Boss was never a heart-feeling man or extremely ambitious talking person (although he was certainly ambitious) and he said little else except that he wanted this black rock whatever it was. He went through a few basic logistics about payment and things he expected to happen and then called the drivers back in (who might or might not have been listening at the door). They were to leave to prepare for the job.

They left the building passing innocent hotel members ignorant of the building's true use. Rikki drove again and they drove across the city past the entrance to the royal palace where Duke Albert lived and where all the current confusing politics that were going through the senate manifested. The palace looked small compared to the now towering skyscrapers that had been built up. Once upon a time it would have been the tallest building around. Now it seemed like a miniature model amongst titans.

The magi-wheel smelled continually of Pai smoke and it was getting on Megufu's nerves. The two drivers finding that Megufu was cooperating and wasn't one of their dodgy clients, started to talk to him more. They opened the window for him on request so that he could get some fresh air and not have to suffer the stench.

Revian suggested some music to which Megufu wasn't keen but thought it best not to interfere. He had never been very keen on music of any kind. Rikki inserted a red cube into the radio and a semi-tonal based Whack music started to play by a group called Splinter. The Whack style of music was based upon vast differences in tempo. The idea was after using wacky harmonic changes in a very slow speed to suddenly leap into a fast surprising key and vice versa. It was hard to pick up a beat and the general idea was to listen to it and be spaced out as was the current musical trend.

They arrived at an old where house that looked pretty much abandoned although it presumably wasn't. They got out and Megufu walked with the two men and came to the single red door entrance. The brickwork was a shabby brown with a dusty texture. Bits crumbled off the corners if you pushed against it too hard. The roof was black and sloping on either side with broken guttering.

Revian knocked on the door and waited. The area was brown and muddy with boring weather above. There was little to see on all fronts except more warehouses or disused piles of tires and junk. Distantly a road roared. They waited for what seemed like a few minutes until the door clicked and a bald headed man looked out; a little shorter than his macho missing hair would have originally suggested.

"You Megufu?" he asked with lips that tried continually to bite each other.

Megufu nodded.

"Pleased to meet you," replied the man shaking his hand, "I'm Gambo. I'm going to be giving you physical assistance and training that should get you up to date with anything you may have forgotten during your retirement"

"I doubt there's much," replied Megufu indifferently

"Even so, it's a very important job so I expect your full cooperation. You'll train all day on the courses to develop as fast as we can as much physical strength and awareness as possible. Phleg my partner will be training you in the finer details. He knows everything about the job you're doing so don't go asking me"

"What about us?" asked Rikki leaning against the wall

"You? You can do what you want. Your jobs simple; there's a shack over there that you can sleep in. Its got some amusements and a fridge with stuff to keep you happy. Don't drink it all at once because there won't be a restock"

"Lets check it out," said Revian tossing his head slightly.

"See ya later Megufu," said Rikki and the two of them headed away.

"Come in," said Gambo with a grin, "We need to get started right away"

They walked down a dull lamped corridor that was white washed with a dull brown carpet. There were many doors: some were open and filled with junk and empty plastic bags or polystyrene packaging from whatever had been unpacked – evidently something had been. They crossed into a small kitchen where a dark haired man was sitting with a mug of coffee. Light came in through the windows illuminating the cup and the various documents he had set out on the table. He stood up as they entered and nodded.

"This is Phleg," said Gambo

"Pleased to meet you," said Phleg shaking him by the hand. He had a less interesting normal pitched voice than Gambo. Gambo's was much lower but Phleg had the boring caffeine enchanted stupor of the stockbroker and the bank cashier. His eyes were baggy and he had long white fingers and a pale face that suggested a life of devious figures. While Phleg was wearing a tie and shirt and dark trousers Gambo had a red shirt and blue track suit bottoms. A whistle was round his neck giving him the stereotypical feel of the trainer. Gambo had something about him that Megufu felt he could get to know but in this man: Phleg Megufu knew that there was no way he would ever get along with him. All the life had been sucked out of him by his work with Virage. That was why Megufu had wanted to be out originally.

"The toilet's just across from this room," said Phleg, "Gambo knows where your room is and will no doubt show you. I won't be instructing you today but I will be tomorrow. Gambo wants to do some basics with you today. Apparently you were quite skilled when you were in Virage"

"I would hardly say 'were'" laughed Megufu, "It feels as if I have hardly left"

Phleg raised an eyebrow, "Indeed," he said coldly, "At any rate Gambo will bring out whatever talent you have. There's coffee in the cupboard. Gambo will be preparing your meals to make sure you don't eat the wrong kind of food"

"Indeed," parodied Megufu, "Well now that we've got these minor details out of the way I should like to get to work. Shall we get started then Gambo?"

"Be my pleasure mate," he retorted and they left the emotionless faced Phleg to deal with his papers that were spread out across the table.


	5. Freinds and coworkers

Chapter5: Friends and co-workers

The training that Megufu began was far from easy. In regards to Magi-tech canisters his marksmanship was excellent. There was little to learn and little that Gambo had to teach on that matter. What Megufu had lost in his three months was as his trainer had expected: physical strength. He had not exercised at all in his retirement hoping never to work again, and he wouldn't have done if the paid sum for this job hadn't been so outrageously high. It had been unheard of for anyone in Virage ever to be paid so much for one sitting.

Various obstacle courses had been arranged in the warehouse including a fully operational illusion room where illusions of the interior of the building he had to assault were set out. The building was for a high sum, a high building. It was none other than the relic black tower in Kazas that had stood ever since it had been built some time before the second dragon campaign. It was and has always been since those ancient times the head of magical research in Serdio where all the main laboratories of magic were held.

In his training inventory that he had to work with was a parachute, a metal spanner that could be unfolded into a mini cross bow that fired metal nails of which he had a set of fifteen. It worked on air pressure and had to be pumped up before it could fire a nail. Tis could make things tricky as it meant he could only fire once before having to recharge. Along with this was a parachute that he would be using to get away from the building. To be used on the day was a plumber's pass seeing as the ancient sewage and waste system of the tower had to be continually regulated and was always going wrong. Along with this also was a fake identity card that he could use should he find the getaway car missing for some reason. Weather reports indicated a strong wind over Kazas on the planned night. This it was hoped would blow him away from the tower. There would of course be a pill he could use if he failed in his mission. He was to be paid on completion.

"I don't like Phleg," said Megufu punching a training bag, "He doesn't respect me"

"He's a paper weight what do you expect?" replied Gambo, "Hey! It's swinging again! Hit it dead center – 3 – 4!"

Megufu sighed and stopped the bag, "What do you get paid for doing this?"

"Peanuts compared to what you'll get I expect," laughed the trainer, "Now hit it"

Megufu did and tried half heartedly to hit the center of the bag. He didn't particularly care at the moment and was exhausted from previous sessions. If he encountered anyone on the mission in combat he'd be aiming for the head first and chest later.

"I don't like Phleg," said Megufu again and punched the bag hard, "I haven't liked him since the moment I met him"

"Why?" asked Gambo.

"Because he treats me like I don't know anything that's why!" replied Megufu with a growl and punched the bag so that it swung, "yesterday he said I was a novice because I didn't know what a Negative-Aplom was. He said my knowledge of magical weaponry was sub-standard. He's a bastard and I bet he wouldn't have known what that thing was unless he'd looked it up the week before!"

"What is it?"

"How should I know?" snapped Megufu, "Some kind of Earth elemental base material that's used in the creation of pellets"

"What's that got to do with your mission? A magical detector is the first thing you pass through to my knowledge. Any weaponry would be picked out straight away"

"Exactly," said Megufu holding the bag still for a second, "That's what I said. That's why I've got the spanner. Phleg thought there might be guards in the tower – but still I don't need to know how their weapons work… it's irrelevant and he knows it. He's wasting valuable time and my patience"

Megufu punched forward hard and dodged as the bag came swinging back at him.

"As long as you're ready in time," said Gambo, "That's all that matters. If I were you I'd cope with Phleg and get along with him. Think of the money"

"Yeah that's what I keep telling myself over and over again," said Megufu.

"Who are you?"

"My name's Turin Sanders"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to inspect the pipes"

"Good," said Phleg looking at his watch. He sipped his coffee and ran his finger over a list tiredly

"Are we done yet?" asked Megufu

Phleg stared at him for a few moments, "No," he replied.

"Why? We've been over all the questions seven times at least"

"You have to tell me which question you answered incorrectly"

Megufu looked blankly, "I didn't answer any questions incorrectly…"

"Yes you did," replied Phleg quickly, "Which one was it?"

"How can I tell you if you didn't tell me when I answered that it was wrong?"

Phleg sighed and put down his mug of coffee, "Is it that difficult?"

"Yes"

Phleg sighed again. Taking up the list he ran his finger down it, "You said you wanted to see the second level pipes. What about the third level?"

Megufu put a hand to his head and looked at the floor, "Phleg that was once. I've answered that six times correctly already and in any case I could just wander up to the third level anyway"

"That's not good enough"

"God," thought Megufu, "get a life"

The day came. Rikki and Revian turned up outside in their limo and Phleg and Gambo were finally 'happy' to some degree with the progress that Megufu had made. His red hair was in tatters hardly presentable. Phleg commented on it and in a last minute ditch effort they got it sprayed black at a hair salon so that he wouldn't look so noticeable. Gambo had stayed behind and Megufu had hoped that Phleg would as well but for some reason it seemed that the 'paper weight' was traveling with him. This was something he hadn't known about.

They traveled back past Indels Castle along the busy roads until they came again to the port. It was of course possible to take the fast road and drive to Kazas but time was of the essence and they needed to port it. This was all paid for on the house by the boss of Virage. Again Rikki and Revian handed out tickets and Megufu had no choice but to follow on. He felt an uncomfortable feeling of loss of control. It made him feel very insecure that these people were making all the decisions that they already knew the answers to. He didn't know anything but he was tagging along. He didn't know anything about this rock he was supposed to be getting.


	6. Kazas

Chapter 6: Kazas

"What's your name?"

"My name's Turin Sanders"

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to inspect the pipes"

The guard nodded looking over the papers that Megufu had handed to him.

"Bloody toilet's always up the creek," he grumbled looking them over, "What levels is it this time you need to check out Mr. Sanders?"

"2nd and 3rd is what I've been given permission for," replied Megufu unflinchingly.

The guard looked over the papers again and handed them back to him with a nod, "Make sure you get it stamped properly next time Mr.Sanders. I'll let you through but you must realize we have these precautions in place for good reasons. You never know when you're going to let someone through who really ort not to be"

"Yes I quite understand," replied Sanders, "I'll try and make sure my superiors understand all about it that next time, I'm just here to get the job done"

The guard scribbled a note on a piece of paper quickly and handed it to Megufu, "In you go then," he said seeming anxious to move on.

Megufu entered through the double doors of the draw bridge and walked down the metal floor grating and took a left turn conscious that the guards might be watching him walk in. Once safely out of view he stopped putting his back to the wall. Uncoiling it he read the note he'd been given:

"Plumber named Tom Sanders to be given access to the 2nd and 3rd Levels. Please cooperate and show him access to the pipe points and sewage sections" – Guard: Yoric Griever.

Looking left and right quickly he sighed and walked on. The backpack was unusually light for a plumber. He was lucky the guard's hadn't opened it – but then again their magi-detection machine hadn't picked anything up so why should they? To them he was just another of many people to enter the tower with honest reasons.

After a number of turns that he'd taken exactly the same in the simulation and passing numerous rooms with strange experiments going on inside he came to a glass window where a guard sat on the other side. Megufu showed him the note by slipping it through the small gap below and the guard nodded. He was overweight and lazily he got up and unlocked the door. Opening it he nodded saying, "Follow me,"

The guard lead him to another room where a teleportation device was located. He had to pass an electronic card down it before it would open. Metal grating rose up into the roof as he passed the card over it allowing them access. Once inside the guard pressed a series of buttons and left the room. A few moments later Megufu was transported up and away to the third level of the large complex where the rock was supposed to be kept.

"The rock itself seems to be practically indestructible – how far this goes we're not willing to find out. No lab equipment could remove even the tiniest of samples for study – are you getting this?" asked one of the scientists.

The scribe nodded passing a light blue stick over a large black board on the wall. The stick did not touch the wall but as it passed over it a blue line that glowed stayed in place forming writing in the shape of the scribe's movements. The room was very large and had once contained a large amazingly well crafted statue in ancient times. It had been moved to the Kanzas museum after the increasingly dangerous magical experiments had deemed its position unsafe. There were many scientists in the room and in the center was a large transparent machine, which was completely see-through. At the very center was a black rock while around it various strange transparent mechanical arms and cogs worked.

"Stop writing," said the scientist and turned to the others briefly who were monitoring equipment round the room, "Hit it with some E-W resonance and see if it reacts"

The scientists nodded and set about pulling levers and pressing buttons. One of the arms inside the large machine pointed at the rock and glowed bright green. The scientists were quickly putting goggles on to protect their eyes. A moment later there was a bright flash of green light that filled the room. Slowly it died down and the rock remained unchanged.

"Write this down," said the scientist quickly, "After treating the rock with every elemental resonance except for thunder we found it responded positively to darkness and negatively to light putting it firmly in the dark elemental table of magic. Because of the lack of response to all other elements – it seems to show us as far as our equipment can show that the rock is very pure dark seeing as nothing else could be picked up"

The rock flashed black suddenly and shone. The scientist stopped speaking and looked on in silence. The scientists looked at each other astonished and quickly checked their monitoring equipment. Gradually the light died down and even the scribe looked on with a puzzled face.

"What happened?" asked the scientist, "Why did it do that?"

"I don't know sir," replied one of the others looking at the equipment, "It's never reacted so strongly before"

"Was it the E-W resonance?" said another, "It could have triggered it off – maybe there's some E – E or E –W in it?"

"I don't care just find out what that was!" demanded the scientist quickly, "I want to know exactly what happened there. Look over all the information that passed through while that light was shinning"

The double doors to the room opened to either side automatically and a man walked in.

"You get out!" shouted the scientist turning to him, "You're not supposed to be in here! This is a private top priority experiment!"

Megufu looked at the man critically and from his backpack took out the spanner. It clicked ready to fire and he aimed it forward.

"Everyone stop what you are doing right now!"

Silence filled the room and the scientists all turned to look at Megufu who held the spanner out pointed towards the leader.

"Is that the black rock? The rock with all the power in it?" demanded Megufu quickly

The scientist looked at him cryptically slowly working out what was going on, "Yes it is," he replied, "What do you want?"

"Take it out of the machine immediately or I will kill you," said Megufu quickly. To strengthen his point he thrust the spanner forward. The Scientist looked at him and the spanner and at the machine several times unsure of what to do. He walked slowly to the transparent machine and then stopped in front of it.

"No," he replied firmly, "I'm not going to do that. If you've got any sense you'll put whatever that is down right away"

Megufu fired and the man paused the nail embedded in his head. His lips failed him and he fell to the ground dead.

"Take the rock out of the machine!" shouted Megufu, "Do it now!"

The scientists nodded to each other and hurriedly set about pressing buttons and pulling leavers. Eventually one of them ran to the machine. The hand passed the rock down a small transparent tube where it slid out and into the hands of the scientist.

"I've done it," said the scientist with a nod.

"Hand it to me now!" ordered Megufu.

The scientist didn't respond.

"DO IT!"

Slowly the scientist walked forward and grudgingly handed him the stone. Megufu snatched it and quickly put it in a designated pouch in his backpack. Running to the doors he pressed some buttons on a control panel.

"Security system's activated," said an electronic voice from above.

Red laser fencing shot up around the room making a perimeter around the scientist's and their machine that was now empty of its test subject.

"The room as you well know," said Megufu quickly, "Is rigged with a Petrification curse to stop people such as myself stealing the stone. I wouldn't try to leave the room if I were you until the security period has ended"

Turning he closed the electric door behind him. The two guards that had been guarding the room were both dead on the floor either side. One had a nail in his head the other had a broken neck. He looked at them briefly with some hint of sympathy before running away.


	7. Getaway

Chapter 7: Get-away

Megufu looked out over the city. It was the most amazing view from the top with all the lights shinning. Distantly the noises could be heard over the howl of the strong wind that was blowing of magi-wheels and music and city life. Thunder rumbled in the distance and he looked over to the south where the sea crashed against the shores. He hoped that he'd be blown safely in the wind. He hoped more than that, the parachute would open. The jump needed to be very clean and far from the wall incase he got wind shielded by the huge building. The wind was coming from the south from the sea so he had to make sure he jumped from the west of the building. The west was closer to the industrial district so hopefully as was the plan he'd receive less notice than the east. Jumping from the north would shield him completely from the wind whereas jumping from the south would blow him straight into the building itself. Jumping from the east passed him over a more residential and higher populated area of the city. The shape of the land meant also that the east side would not have as much wind blowing through also or partly due to some sky scraper hotels near the shore.

This was it: He took several steps back and then running forward grabbing hold of the hidden chord on his backpack leaped off of the edge. The wind took him heavily and the ground rose up all too fast. It was a tall tower but he was not jumping out of a plane and timing it wrong could easily kill him. He pulled the chord and the black coloured parachute opened. He prayed that everyone would be too busy to notice him. The wind took him and blew him as had been predicted far north. It took him over chimneys and factories. It all passed by so quickly. The amount of times he had thought about all these actions did not compare at all with the small amount of time it took to enact them. Being caught or killed would make or break his life.

He landed on the roof of an old closed down magi-generator. The tall chimney reached up to the sky and he almost crashed into it but for a little luck: the wind slowed a little at the last minute. He collapsed on the roof and quickly discarded the parachute from him fighting with the black strings. Somebody of course would have noticed him, but it would take them time to respond. He'd been lucky to make it so far.

Dragging the parachute to the edge of the building he noticed an alleyway below. He pushed the parachute over and began to climb down the metal ladder. He reached the bottom safely and wiped the sweat off of his forehead. Carefully he disposed of the parachute by placing it in one of the large industrial bins. He thought briefly of setting light to it but that would probably only raise attention. For such a big mission it suddenly occurred to him how unorganized they had been. Little had been said about what he was to do with the parachute and equipment. Little had been said about when he would be paid or what would happen after he had retrieved the rock. All he had been told to do now, was contact Phleg and the others, and somehow they'd pick him up quickly.

He walked down the street. The magi-wheels were still trundling by every now and again but the industrial area seemed to be pretty quiet. There were few people about at this time of night – understandable in a sector that was made mostly of factories and company warehouses. Eventually he found a phone booth and rang the number he'd been given. Phleg answered the phone immediately as if he'd been waiting there the whole time.

"Where are you?" he whispered

"Not entirely sure," replied Megufu looking constantly from side to side, "Industrial sector, near a banged up old generator. There's a magi-wheel park just outside me on my left. On my right there's a some kind of night club called Doel's swords. If it's any help there's a fast road bridge in the distance, I think the F-23 but I couldn't swear on it"

"I think I know where you are," replied Phleg quickly, "Rev and Rikki and me will meet you quickly if not you'll hear from us again soon – stay by that booth. Did the alarm go off?"

"I don't think so, but it's only a matter of time. Everything went the same as in the simulation. I can't be sure as you know to whether the scientists will risk trying to escape or not"

"K I get ya. We'll be seeing you soon. Just wait near enough to that booth to hear it ring and we'll pass by until we see you" He waited and waited. The sky thundered again above and it started to rain heavily in those sudden showers that were associated with Kazas. They came in from the south sea heavily charged with water magic from the deep. Megufu cursed looking up at the sky and hoped that the limo came soon. He was going to get very wet if he stayed out here. Catching the eye of a shop he walked over to it to stand under the red rain cover roof. The water dripped down off from the top into puddles below. The limo came promptly enough to be surprising and late enough to be worrying under the circumstances. Megufu was feeling cold and wet and would have been angry if his life hadn't been on the line. He was very happy to see the limo and the people he recognized inside. He recognized the car as soon as it pulled up and quickly got in slamming the door shut. Phleg was next to him.

"You got it?" he asked quickly.

"Yes," replied Megufu out of breath. Rikki was next to Phleg and Revian drove. None of them spoke.

"Show me!" said Phleg quickly.

"Not now," replied Megufu, "It's in my back pack – later"

"Show me now!" insisted Phleg

This irritated Megufu. He turned to face Phleg slowly and looked him in the eyes, "No," he replied, "As I said I'll show it to you later. First I want us to get of the road to safety"

Phleg did not respond but stared angrily. A little later he responded to Megufu who was looking out the window, "As you wish"

The limo took a dodgy turning and the wheels screeched, "What's wrong?" questioned Megufu, "Is someone following us?"

"No," said Revian in the front, "Shut up"

Megufu's fist tightened. He'd report this treatment to the boss. He'd get them all fired.


	8. Hate

Chapter 8: Hate

They passed down a dark road into a darker part of town. The limo stopped in the rain next to some litter bins.

"Get out," said Phleg coldly.

"Why?"

"We're here. The Boss wants to meet you early"

"In a dark alleyway at this time of night?" laughed Megufu

"Shut up smart-arse," said Rikki, "Get out"

Megufu did stepping in a black oily puddle and closed the door behind him. The window wipers were still going. Phleg got out with Rikki who leaned against the wall with something shinny in his hand. The wind-screen wipers kept going.

"Follow me," said Phleg coldly and Megufu followed on. They walked further into the darkness until they came to a dead end. Litter bins were over turned here and there and pipe work and metal grated steps, reached up into the sky dripping with water. The rain stopped briefly and the dripping seemed to intensify.

"Give me the rock Megufu," said Phleg firmly

"No…" returned Megufu, "I'll give it to the Boss since you're so keen to see it"

"I wouldn't say that if I were you Megufu…" began Phleg icily

"What is this a set up or something?" said Megufu deadly seriously

"Yes," replied Phleg quickly and from his rain coat took out a black curiously shaped spell-binder. It fired and a long green dart pierced Megufu's flesh in his arm. He clutched it in shock and then looked up quickly at Phleg who grinned.

"You!" is all Megufu said before rushing forward. There was a burst of white light and electricity and Megufu flew back and hit the wall in pain.

"I hadn't planned to kill you Megufu," said Phleg coldly, "But you must understand I will if you charge me again. The sparkster spell I just cast on you was set at 100. I could easily move it up to 150 if you try that again. That dart I just hit you with was a slow working deadly poison. If you don't hand me that rock soon Megufu and me in return give you the antidote, things will get pretty nasty for you pretty soon"

"Alright!" whimpered Megufu on the floor choking on blood, "I'll get you the rock"

Painfully he took the backpack off of him the straps smoking with heat. He thrust it aside and reached into it passed the zip. He felt for the spanner. He found it but there was only one problem. He hadn't pumped it up ready to fire again. He was finished. There was no way the boss had ever intended to pay him all that money and now he'd die at the hands of Phleg. He'd just been a pawn for bigger gamers. He clutched the rock in his hands and stood to his feet holding it.

"You want the rock?"

"Hand it over Megufu before things become even more painful for you. I'm not such a dead person as you clearly think. Don't think I haven't heard what you said to Gambo. I do have feelings Megufu. I am an easy going man if you're easy with me… so far I've found your attitude very, very difficult"

"I'll give you the rock," spat Megufu, "I'll ram it through your fucking head!"

He ran forward and Phleg's eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected Megufu to try the same trick twice but he reacted all the same. There was a blast of electrical light but Megufu was too angry to notice. The only thing he wanted to do was take hold of this man who he disliked so much and tear him limb from limb. How dare he attack him here of all places! The pain seemed irrelevant compared to his want – the insanity – the lust to kill this man who wanted to kill him. He felt his body weakening his mind breaking.

The light stopped and there was only darkness.

Revian waited. The renewed rain was making him wet and cold and he didn't like it. He wanted this job to be over very soon. All him and Riki had left to do was deliver Phleg and the rock back to the boss and that was it.

As far as concern for Megufu went – he didn't really care. He hadn't liked Megufu, but then again his dislike for him had never become great. He had been along with Rikki, envious of his success. There were not many in Virage who had made such a career and there were certainly not many who had been called back from retirement. It was only right that such a lucky soon to be rich man should meet his end in a nasty death. It was them who had done all the work.

Revian didn't like Phleg much either but that didn't matter. Phleg at least was not successful. Revian did not get on with successful people in Virage – at least in his opinion. The rain pattered against the car and he began to envy Rikki for being the driver today. Had he somehow known that they were going to get stuck in rain?

There was a crunch of glass in the darkness. Revian turned to watch Phleg return.

"Is he dead yet? Come on Phleg we haven't got all day!" he called

The noise did not respond. Rikki made the windscreen wipers wipe and yawned in the driver's seat. Drips dropped everywhere so that Revian's chin had begun to feel like a small waterfall.

"Come on man," sighed Revian, "I'm dying out here"

The water trickled irrelevantly and uninterrupted.

"He's dead," said a voice from the darkness. Revian stood to attention, "And so are you"

There was a flash of purple light and Revian felt a pain in his chest. A black shape stood in front of him with strange demonic wings. The monster withdrew his hand instantly covered in blood leaving a gaping hole where Revian's heart had been. Revian fell to his knees his body going quickly cold and pain stretching everywhere. A kick sent him flying unto the darkness. Rikki saw the trouble and the blood fly and in a panic quickly started the limo up. The wheels screeched as he reversed but he too was too slow. The windscreen smashed as a dark figure stood on the bonnet. A large shard of glass was in it's hand and it thrust it forward plunging it through Rikki's eye dead instantly.

There was a bang of purple sparks as it shot up through the sky. Megufu collapsed on the roof of the building still laughing and then crying and then laughing again, and weeping, and in a maze of confusion he lost consciousness.


	9. Upside Down

Chapter 9: Upside down

Megufu yawned and opened his eyes. He felt very tired. His mouth was wet with drool and he felt dirty. The sun was shinning with an orange morning glow. It had probably rained on him in the night. His hand was curled in front of him. Slowly he opened it to reveal the black rock.

"Oh my god…" he whispered everything coming back to him. He stood carefully to his feet and crept over to the edge of the building. He gazed briefly over the edge and what he saw sent a shock down his body. The Limo was crashed against a wall and blood was everywhere. Several enforcers were below one a detective dressed in a black coat speaking into a communicator. There were several enforcer magic-wheels parked here and there and red tape sealed the area off. Little did they know the murderer was still in the area. Scientists probably from the black tower were scanning the walls and bodies with white blue glowing devices. Quickly Megufu moved away his heart beating fast. He hid behind the small wall on the roof that stopped people from falling off and gazed again at the black rock in his hand.

"A dragoon? Is this really? Me?" he whispered the old legends dawning on him, "Then that stone… the green stone in the royal palace that is property of the monarchy… that is really the dragoon spirit belonging to Albert 1st? Are all the old legends true? Does this mean that the dragon campaigns… are not false?"

Again he uncurled his hand and looked at the rock. As if in answer it glowed silently only enough to illuminate his hand in a dark purpleish black.

"How ironic that I should be the last dragoon… how ironic that I should receive this… the dragoon spirit of darkness. Fitting maybe…"

Again carefully he gazed over the edge and looked at the men below. Quickly he moved away again, "Shit," he whispered, "They've found my bag… I've got to get out of here"

There was a door on the roof but there was no way he could take it. In all likelihood the enforcers were probably already searching the building. It would only be a matter of time before they came onto the roof.

Crawling away from the wall he stood up and walked to the other side of the building. An enforcer magi-wheel pulled up and an enforcer with a large sniffer dog stepped out. This would be a huge investigation in a matter of minutes. He took a step back and held out the dragoon spirit.

"I don't know how hard this will be," he muttered.

It wasn't hard at all. There was only a single thought involved. The dragoon spirit itself seemed to know when it's owner wanted to connect with it.

"I should be dead …" he thought silently to himself as the stone flashed brightly transforming him, "Why didn't I die back there?"

The wings shot out as black armour surrounded him. It was this time round that he began to realize how draining this magic stone was on him. It seemed to feed on his battle emotions – fear, anger, and probably lust. It was wearing for him to be like this even for a second. It was like using up energy you don't have. Kneeling and stepping back he shot up in the air and flew far and wide over the top of the building.

The man below looked up briefly after a shadow passed over him. He didn't notice what it was as by the time he had looked up it had gone.

Megufu headed for the sea. He'd get a boat out of here and think about where he was going on the way. The power was draining every second and he found that his mind was tiring. He landed again almost at the waterfront behind some industrial metal bins. Light surrounded him and he gasped for breath exhausted. He had not expected the power to be this draining. The danger of heading towards the sea, as he had done, was that he was passing close to the Black Tower where he had stolen the rock. Whether or not those scientists had been petrified was still unknown to him. He knew they were on his trail so something must have happened to the scientists otherwise there wouldn't have been scientists at the crime scene.

Once he felt strong enough to stand up again Megufu left from behind the litter bins and hit the streets. Over the top of buildings he could see the tower in the distance. It was such a large black shape that it was hard to define it as a tower. It was more like a castle or something. Why it had been called a tower Megufu had never been sure.

He stopped walking for a moment as he came to a payfreind outside one of the major banks. With his hands he started searching the folds of his engineer clothes until he found what he was looking for; the second ID. Carefully he put it into the payfreind and waited until a different screen came up to the welcome one. He entered the pin number that Phleg had taught him off by heart and waited as the balance came up on screen. There wasn't a lot of money but enough to buy his way to somewhere or other. He withdrew it all and stuffed the notes in his pocket along with the card.

Warning: Account balance at 0. If Stationary account will close in fifty days.

That would be a worry to most people as it was difficult to get a bank account in Serdio. If an account closed because it had no money in it, it went on the permanent record and it made it much harder to open a new account. Virage owned a smaller branch bank Megufu happened to know. It was the only bank in Serdio and Tiberoa that would allow people to overdraw and go into the red. People who did so and couldn't pay the money back quickly faced huge interest rates and the possibility of Virage men coming to reclaim household items in compensation. Megufu had no worry of this as the account was completely fake. He was lucky to have gotten to the money before Virage closed it down. They would not be happy that he had escaped with the rock alive, and withdrawn their money that was supposed to be only for emergencies. As far as Megufu was concerned this was certainly an emergency for him. The world had suddenly turned upside down.


	10. Across the Sea

Chapter10: Across the sea

Megufu sighed. He sat in the onboard restaurant and looked out at the sea. He'd been traveling for quite a while by now across the ocean. The ticket had been cheaper than he'd expected but it didn't deny the fact that sooner or later he'd run out of money. Wherever he went to he'd probably need to earn something or other either through legit means or not. Megufu sighed again and sank his head into the table. The service was taking forever and he felt awful and famished. He needed a bath.

"Mind if I sit here?" said a voice.

Megufu opened his eyes and looked up. In front of him was a very tall and old man. He completely overshadowed Megufu.

"Yeah go ahead," he said somewhat nervously.

The old man pulled the chair back very far and sat upright legs uncrossed.

"Where you going to in Rouge then?" asked the old man

"I'm going to Rouge?" laughed Megufu, "So that's where I'm going"

"You don't know where you're going?" laughed the old man. He had a strange accent about him that probably came from the island, "So where in Rouge would you like to go?"

"I don't know…" replied Megufu resting his head in his hands, "Absolutely no idea. You got any ideas?"

It was at that moment that a waiter turned up holding two menus in his hands. He handed them to the two men with a smile.

"Thanks," grunted Megufu taking it in his hand.

"Thank you," said the old man very politely pronouncing each syllable.

Megufu looked across the menu quickly, "I'll just have a fish and chips"

"What about you sir?" said the waiter only just looking down on the old man.

"I'll have whatever he's having," he replied with a smile

"Anything to drink sirs?" asked the waiter

"Cheapest spirits you got," said Megufu

"And you sir?" said the waiter again turning to the old man

"Just a glass of water please"

The waiter nodded taking in the menus under his arm and turning walked away. All Megufu could think about was food. He was so hungry and tired and didn't know what in the world he was doing. Why was he going to Rouge? The sensible thing would have been to have gone to the boss with the rock and say how sorry he was and maybe then he'd have gotten the money.

But no; the boss would probably still have him killed. He knew too much already. Probably he had it in for Phleg and the two drivers as well. If Megufu hadn't killed them with the dragoon spirit, then the boss probably would have later. Megufu wondered with a slight sigh, or regret what had happened to Gambo. He was the only person in the last week he had actually felt attached to.

"Why don't you come with me to the Rouge school?" asked the old man following on their conversation.

"Why you going there?" asked Megufu sleepily

"I go once a year to pay my respects to the two dragoons. They changed around the world of martial arts"

"You a martial artist?" asked Megufu

"Yes," replied the old man, "I am. I've studied the Rouge technique all my life and it brought me great understanding – not just of fighting, but people"

"What's your name?" said Megufu after a while

"Lagnok," replied the old man, "What about you?"

"Megufu," he returned, "I know a little martial arts myself. I was trained with the Rouge technique. I never got into the philosophy of it much"

"You should do," said Lagnok, "Rouge is about mind and body. It's not just fighting. You can understand a great many other things about the world just by reading The art of ancestry"

"Ah yes, that was the book wasn't it? That's the book the two dragoons wrote yes?"

"Yes," said the old man simply, "Yes it is. The first two chapters which are fairly huge teach the old technique from the beginning. Haschal wrote those, then there is the third chapter which was written by Kongal and Haschal and then the fourth and fifth ones were written by Kongal after Haschal's death"

Megufu nodded and sat back in his chair. He looked briefly out at the waves for a moment and then looked the old man in the eye, "Do you know much about the dragoons?"

"A little," he nodded, "I am more interested in their technique than all the fantasy stuff"

"You don't believe it all happened?" asked Megufu slyly

"I don't know," replied the old man thoughtfully, "Maybe it did, maybe it didn't. From what I've read of the books detailing the dragon campaigns the books detailing the second seem to be as hazy as the first. I suppose I can say all that stuff about dragoons may have happened – or it may not. The version we get to read about probably isn't anywhere near the truth. So how can we know? How can we know what a dragoon really was? How can we know when the light dragoon is called Shana in Serdio and Miranda in Demingrad? How can we know for sure when the wind dragoon is called both Lavitz and Albert? The truth you see we have to make for ourselves, it depends what we personally believe. Do you understand me?"

"I think so…" nodded Megufu

"The legend goes that a wingly called Melbu Frahma once ruled all of Endiness and kept the world alive by stopping the god of destruction from being born. He returns again in the second dragon campaign called Lloyd in Serdio, Zieg and Lloyd in Tiberoa and Melbu Frahma Zieg and Lloyd in Demingrad. It's very difficult to know the truth or to know how shall I say? Who this man actually was – or what he might have been called…"

"Do you believe that the dragoons existed?"

The old man laughed, "Of course I do! How could I not believe that the dragoons existed when we have The book of ancestors written?"

The waiter returned placing two plates of chips down on the table. He wobbled for a second as the boat turned on the waves but just managed to steady himself in time.

"You have good balance," laughed Lagnok patting him on the back with a smile, "You would probably make a good Rouge pupil!"

"Thankyou," laughed the waiter, "Sorry about that," he said and turned away.

Megufu tucked into the food very quickly, "So where in Rouge can I find out more about the dragoons?" he asked in between mouthfuls.

"Why are you so interested in the dragoons?" asked the old man curiously. He seemed surprised at how fast Megufu was eating.

"… dunno," replied Megufu with a shrug, "I guess I've got a morbid curiousness like you… you know. That things might not be what the books tell us?"

The old man nodded cutting up his first chip, "Maybe you should come with me to the school? If you want to know about the dragoons and what they did then start with their unfinished legacy – the rouge school. I'll show you around if you like"

"Ok," said Megufu quickly, "I'm glad to have met you"

"Oh and… what's your name again?" asked Lagnok quickly

"Megufu," he replied, "But not for much longer probably"


	11. Ancestors

Chapter11: Ancestors

After leaving the boat Lagnok lead the way taking a lift from a taxi service to the center of Rouge where he was determined to show Megufu the legacy of Haschal's martial art technique. Rouge itself was a large island out in the sea that was well known for Haschal's martial art technique.

Rouge technique had become the basis for all-physical performing in Endiness branching out into many different styles of fighting and acrobatics. For example there was much debate and differences of what exactly was the flurry of styx. Martial arts masters from all over Endiness endlessly debated and split over the issue of the punch that could break stone and dent steel. For instance when did, and should, a student learn the move and when did the move actually become official? There was a split in style with those who believed the flurry was a chop and between those who thought it was a straight punch. There was endless debate between the choppers themselves, who split on two sides over what part of hand should connect. There was one group of the choppers who believed that the flurry of styx should only be performed below the hand, below the third finger where the wrist meets the hand. Other groups believed the flurry of styx could be performed anywhere on the hand below the thumb. A revolutionary group of martial artists that was currently in the news of the Rouge world was the Kabaria school of arts which believed that the flurry of styx could be performed with any part of the body at any time from as little distance as possible. There was great debate over the representation that Haschal had written down on Styx seeing as Kongal's written work on the flurry differed from Haschal's. Styx himself had never written anything down as the knowledge had always until then been passed down from generation to generation - that is if Styx had ever existed. Haschal and Kongal's method was vague as to which part of the body should be used to perform the move, and was dealt with in little detail to other parts of the Rouge technique.

"Where to first?" asked Lagnok in the back seat, "There's the Rouge Heritage museum; also the Rouge University of Martial Arts – world wide reclaimed. There's the Baburian university and the Tregulta university both dealing with martial arts"

"Does this island do anything except martial arts?" asked Megufu looking out the window tiredly. There were fit looking people walking down the streets in leather jackets. Not everyone on the island was a martial artist but you could certainly tell the ones who were. There was little point in staying on Rouge if you didn't have an interest in either martial arts or fishing.

"There's a small casino on the west side of the island but that's about it"

"Where can I find out more about the dragoons?"

"The Rouge Heritage museum," replied Lagnok with a smile, "That's where the remains of Haschal are kept"

"Really?" asked Megufu, "What else can I find out about dragoons from there?"

Lagnok sat up and leaned on the front seat, "Could you take us to the Rouge Heritage museum?"

"Yeah… no prob," replied the driver. Lagnok leaned back and looked Megufu in the eye, "Why don't we go and find out?"

"Have you been there recently?" inquired Megufu

"No not for a long time," smiled the old man, "It's a fantastic place though. I can guarantee it will have something about dragoons you didn't know"

The magi-wheel trundled along the busy streets. Rouge was quite built up for an island. It was surprising how many people lived there. Officially Rouge was a separate nation with its own parliament but in truth it relied heavily on trade and imports from Tiberoa. Cynics of the Tiberoan government always called Rouge "Little Tiberoa,". It had it's own government but really it did little other than keep the streets clean.

When they arrived at the museum they got out and Megufu searched his pockets, "How much was that taxi-fair?" he asked.

"Don't worry I'll pay," said Lagnok waving his hands.

"You sure?"

"Yes," he replied, "Don't worry about it"

The museum was a huge and expansive stone building with statues and small towers over it almost like a castle. Gargoyals and stone creatures lined the roof looking down below suspiciously. There were seven painted stones above the entrance representing the dragoons. The center one Lagnok pointed out was Dart being red for fire. Dart was the heroic leader of the dragoons in the second dragon campaign. The original plan had been to put the light and darkness either side but the architect had gotten it wrong on purpose and put the Earth and Thunder stones either side of the red. Since then it had become a tradition to keep Haschal and Kongal's stones (Thunder and Earth) either side of Dart's fitting seeing as the museum was pretty much a tribute to them.

Megufu felt a resonance from his pocket. Looking down through the gap he saw that the stone was glowing slightly. How ironic that Lagnok was questioning the dragon campaign when here was Megufu in possession of a real dragoon spirit.

"What am I going to?" whispered Megufu

"About what?" asked Lagnok as they came into the hallway.

"Never mind," he said with a sigh.

"Two tickets please," said Lagnok to a lady at the counter. The hallway was quite cold and had an expansive feeling to it. Large paintings were on the walls and huge pillars reached up into the roof. The paintings showed pictures of battles and kings and queens. Large glass cabinets contained suits of armour and weapons.

"Do you want open access to all parts of the museum?" asked the lady

"Yes of course," replied Lagnok

"That will be extra," she responded with a withering look

"Extra?" said Lagnok his face falling from its smile, "When did this happen? You never used to charge extra to see the whole building"

"Sorry mister…" said the woman dryly, "It's nothing to do with me but the rules changed last month"

"Fine… two tickets open access then," sighed Lagnok. Turning to Megufu he nodded, "I think you'd better help pay as well"

"Ok," he nodded worried and very conscious of the amount of money he had left. They paid for their tickets and walked on in given a map. Megufu looked at it in interest. The museum was shaped as a large square with a garden again square shaped in the middle. In the center of the garden was the tomb of Haschal. The door Megufu noticed was only just large enough for Lagnok to get his head under without stooping. It was embarrassing walking next to an old man who was so much taller than himself.

"Rouge was founded," began Lagnok proudly reading off a wooden information sign, "by exiles of Tiberoa and Serdio in the thirty-2nd century. The exiles lived off the fish and fruits of the island until the numbers grew and trouble started with inter-tribal wars. The island was riddled with anarchy eventually coming to a general armistice between two sides, the Giki, and the Mappoes which was certainly not a stalemate. The chaos continued so that everyone on the island soon learned how to defend himself or herself. The island was named Rouge by the clan-leader Farasch somewhere around the thirty-8th century due to the amount of blood spilled, Rouge being another word for red hence the couler of blood. Farasch organized the aggression into organized fighting sessions that were intended for self-defense. The islanders and leaders of the clans found a way to channel their aggression by sparring and not killing each other in the process. Eventually Styx in the forty'th century… are you listening?"

"Yes…" said Megufu, "What about Haschel though?"

"Do you want to go to the tomb?"

"Yes, why not?"

"Don't you want to have a look round first?"

"I'm interested in anything about dragoons," returned Megufu

"You are curious…" muttered Lagnok, "… very. Alright then. First though lets go have a look at Haschal's section then we'll go to the garden and see the tomb. I'm sure that's relevant to you"

"Very," said Megufu, "Very relevant," he chuckled.


	12. The museum staff

Chapter12: The museum staff

The building never seemed any smaller as they went round the museum. They passed rooms dedicated to different martial artists and people of historical importance to the island. One section had a huge image box in it that filled the whole of the wall; in the room there were many black seats. Lagnok made Megufu wait here for a while since he had not seen this new attraction in the museum and was clearly interested. The screen showed a mini-movie continually in repeat so that people could come and go as they pleased. It was a debate with images of the sea around Rouge and Indel's castle in Bale and a historian who posed talking at different locations. The presenter was speaking telling of the evidence for and against King Albert having ever come to Rouge sometimes by a beach the wind blow his hair picturesquely or others in some dungeon walking down dark steps or locations where someone was said to have seen Albert.

"Rouge has… and always will be one of the most fascinating and challenging places to study history. We have little documentation of what actually happened in the history of Rouge and often we have to rely on sources from other countries to fill in the gaps; or think about what might have been happening"

"For instance during the Tiberoan uprising in the sixty-third century a report survives that the fish trade between Rouge and Tiberoa had been halted due to a strange disease that had infected the mainland. If this report hadn't survived we would have had little clue as to why the population of Rouge almost died out in the sixty-third century. King Albert earlier still then this is a person who's connection with Rouge eludes historians. Did he ever come to Rouge and if so why? Historians relying on ancient scriptures from the Demingrad library, believe that one of the signet spheres was kept under the sea near Rouge in the – as the legend goes the magical city of Aglis, that to this day has never been found"

The Rouge accounts of the dragoons, mentions them as a whole and mostly in their connection to Haschal and Kongal. One reference to the King is made, but this is done in the old language and can be translated in different ways, meaning either: guard, friend or leader. Was it Lavitz who came to Rouge as some suggest representing the king, or is it as many historians believe that Lavitz and Albert are the same person?"

"Come on," said Lagnok patting Megufu on the back with a sigh, "Lets get on. They know nothing about dragoons either"

The section on Haschal himself filled many, many rooms of the huge building. Much of it was about the Art of Ancestry and how different people had interpreted the book. They paused briefly in a cafeteria which had a dark blue carpet. The walls on one side were fitted with large windows from ceiling to the floor out of which Megufu could see the gardens. Beautiful blossoms and sculptures could be seen and a demonstration of martial arts was going on at the far side with the beat of a drum. In the center there was a huge statue reaching up taller than the museum. It was a statue of Haschal and Kongal back to back in black stone. Megufu looked up at it in awe.

"Do you like it?" asked the old man

"It's very impressive," stuttered Megufu bending his head to try and see the top of the statue.

"It was commissioned by the same architect who built the statue of Dart in the Dragoon Memorial center in Seles. It's good but I think Kongal would have been taller than that. They make them look the same height"

"He was taller?"

"Yes, he was supposed to be a giant of a man"

The two statues stood back to back arms folded. Haschal's expression was very firm and glaring. He was wearing a long robe that reached down to the giant marble plinth he was standing on. Kongal was dressed in some kind of war garb. His head was shaved either side leaving a single strip in the middle - he was made to look very strong.

"What the devil?" said Lagnok gazing out across the garden, "What are those men doing?"

"Which?" asked Megufu looking in the direction that the old man had pointed in.

"Those men coming out of the tomb! Nobody is allowed actually into the tomb!"

With that Lagnok turned around and walked to the man serving at the cafeteria.

"What can I do for you sir?"

Lagnok actually looked quite angry, "Why are those men entering the tomb of Haschal?"

"Repair work. It's just the annual look over to make sure the structure isn't falling apart that's all"

"Annual? This happens every year?" said Lagnok slightly deflated

"Yes, it's nothing to worry about," nodded the man. There was something about the man at the bar that Megufu didn't trust. As he spoke he wouldn't look Lagnok quite in the eye. He was cleaning a cup with a tea-towel and seemed too unconcerned.

Lagnok turned away and gestured Megufu to follow him. Megufu did with a raise of the eyebrows and they walked out through glass doors into the gardens passed several wooden signs and boards of information. Lagnok headed straight for the statue and some men who were standing outside it. They passed many visitors to the museum, Megufu bumping into one; he had to apologies.

The men were in black suits with yellow helmets on. As Lagnok arrived one left the shrine closing and sealing the stone door with some kind of magic device. The door was a large one at the base of the statue, which at this time of the day completely overshadowed them all.

"Sorry sir, you're not allowed to go into the tomb," said one of the men looking up at Lagnok

"Why were you going into the tomb?" asked Lagnok suspiciously

Megufu arrived behind and looked up briefly at the statue that seemed even bigger now that he was under it's shadow.

"Monthly check up on the interior. We just have to make sure that it's stable that's all"

"I thought the tomb was created and sealed with magic to be stable?"

"Yes it is, but that doesn't mean we can sit back…"

"The rule has always been that nobody may enter…"

"Yes well tradition has to change if the statue…"

"The man in the cafeteria said it was an annual check up…"

The engineer put his hands on his hips eyes narrowing and breathed out irritably.

"Look just push off old man!" he said waving his hands at Lagnok, "We're busy here can't you see that?"

"There's no need to be rude," said Lagnok slowly

"Come," said Megufu putting a hand on his shoulder, "Lets go. Maybe they're legit after all… lets not make a scene"


	13. Dreams

Chapter13: Dreams

It was getting dark when they finally arrived at the hotel. Lagnok had not stopped talking since they left.

"I can't believe it. Why are they entering the tomb?"

"Well maybe it's like they said," shrugged Megufu gazing again out the window, "Maybe they are genuinely fixing things. It's just a museum after all"

"No…" said Lagnok, "The rule has always been a tradition, and that is that none may enter the tomb. It's supposed to always be that way, the door is never supposed to be opened like that. Its to be seen not touched"

Megufu sighed, "If you're really unhappy about it why don't you ring someone up who can do something about it?"

"You think that might help?"

"You won't know unless you try," nodded Megufu.

The magi-wheel pulled up and Lagnok and Megufu got out. Megufu paid for the taxi and the two of them walked into the hotel that was by no means an expensive one. Lagnok booked a double room where the two of them could sleep and Megufu agreed to help pay even though there was next to nothing left. He was panicking inside like crazy about what he should do about money.

"Thankyou sirs, here are your keycards," said the man at the desk handing them both small red cards.

In the room Lagnok went straight to the phone and started ringing numbers out of an address book.

"Who you going to ring?" asked Megufu looking out of the window. They were on the 2nd floor and he could see magi-wheels passing below. They made quite a bit of noise so he shut the window.

"As many people as I can," replied Lagnok, "I want to make sure what they're doing is legal"

"Ok," said Megufu with a shrug, "I'm going to go out and buy something to eat. Do you want anything?"

"No thankyou," replied Lagnok shaking his head.

Megufu nodded and left the room. Outside on the streets he crossed over and walked a little way down alleyways and passed magi-wheels until he came to a baguette shop. He bought himself a cheap cheese baguette and went on his way eating it down the road. The thing he was very anxious to do was get some new clothes. He needed to change into something different clothes because of the danger that people might recognize them. He got to a shop just in time and bought himself a pair of dark black jeans and a dark purple t-shirt. He purchased just as they were at hand a pair of fresh underwear and socks. Shoes would have to wait as he needed to eat tomorrow as well. The magic doors slid opened and he walked out with his bag back onto the streets.

Walking back he passed some drunkards singing together and heard in the distance the siren of an enforcer car. Even in Rouge it seemed society was withering. He walked up the stairs of the hotel and entered using the keycard back into their double room. Lagnok was there just having put down the phone. He searched the book again only looking up once.

Megufu yawned, "I think I'm going to go straight to bed. I may need to go off in the morning"

Lagnok didn't answer but continued searching through the book. Megufu shook his head and walked into the other room and closed the door. If Lagnok wanted to be anti-social then Megufu wouldn't stop him. He was a senile old man after all. There was a shower next to Megufu's room that he used briefly before bed. Finally he got into bed and took out the dragoon spirit putting it on his bedside cabinet. He left most of his clothes on the floor and looked down at them happy to be out of the things. He'd only just be able to afford the bill in the morning. That's why there'd be no way in hell he'd be paying it. He gazed at the stone for awhile admiring the many coulers it showed. It was a relic of time that proved the existence of a great many things that he had only dreamed of when he was a kid. Turning out the light he closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep. All night he could hear Lagnok's voice through the door speaking softly to different people. He couldn't understand what all the fuss was about.

"But is it legal? Why are they doing it?"

Megufu fell asleep and dreamed…

"The legacy had not ended. What happened all those years ago? I was falling. What does it mean to be a dragoon?"

_"Got any change mister?" grumbled a voice in the darkness. A swirl of faces and strange things and strange people and strange places. "Did I once fly on great wings?"_

_Albert 12th Abdicates. What would he have thought?_

_"Virage's the word. The boss told me to give you a ring"_

_"Go away"_

_"We've got another job for you"_

_Divine bank robbed today._

_"Who are you?"_

_There were two dragon campaigns. The Virage Embryo is dead. The spheres are spent. The dragoon spirits were lost and we all lost out faith in our history._

_"My name's Turin Sanders"_

_"Lagnok," replied the old man, "What about you?" who are you old man?_

_"No… who are you really?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_Since then not a single stone has shone. There has been no new dragoon since that time. No new dragoon until now. "No dragoons except for me why?" Why remake the world when everything is beautiful?_

_"Who are You?"_

_"I don't understand"_

_"Who are YOU?"_

_"Who am I?"_

_Thunder crashed._

Megufu sat up in bed. He was sweating. Outside it was raining and the thunder rumbled. He was breathing heavily.

"What was I dreaming about?" he whispered wearily. The rain pattered on the roof like electricity. The stone was glowing. He picked it up and gazed at it. It resonated even more making a soft humming sound. It was almost as if it was telling him something. It was as if it was telling him to listen. He did and he listened. The rain, the distant siren, the distant sound of a drum beat as a magi wheel with wide windows drove passed. He couldn't hear Lagnok's voice anymore. Maybe he had gone to bed? He listened more; he could hear the sound of an image box - that and little else.

Carefully he crept out of bed and pulled the wet towel from the night before round him. Opening the door he looked in the other room carefully. The light was off and the image box was on giving the room a ghostly atmosphere. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Lagnok wasn't anywhere to be seen. The bed was unmade.

"… so far no hostages have been shot. The museum area has been evacuated as enforcers survey the scene. The worrying thing is what would happen if the terrorists managed to get a port running inside the museum. If this happened they could easily teleport every single valuable item out to who knows where. So far the terrorists have revealed at least seven hostages in the building but many more may be at risk…"

The dragoon spirit glowed.

"So that's where you've gone old man…"


	14. Light and Dark

Chapter14: Light and Dark

With a crash of water vapor the dark shape landed on the building. Enforcers were everywhere below with flashing lights. Bright Mech Platforms hovered across the sky not daring to come closer to the museum.

Turning dragoon had seemed easier the third time. He was perched on top of the roof like a gargoyle. Rain was falling around him over his black armour and wings. Looking down below he could see enforcers lined up and a huge crowd of people below. The road outside the museum was flashing with lights. There was a flash of purple light and Megufu de-transformed becoming human again. Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed across the sky. They hadn't seen him arrive. The weather was stormy – why was there a storm tonight? His new clothes were going to get very wet. Irritably he pulled a price tag off of the shirt and dropped it on the stone roof.

As quick as he could, he made his way across the roof to gaze down at the gardens below. Crouching he watched from above to see what was going on. Men were standing about in rain coats outside of the statue. The statue's stern face seemed even more so as the flash of lightning lit it up.

Walking round the roof of the west side of the building he found an emergency exit. This was the first time in his life that he'd been on a job, when he didn't know what he was doing. He climbed in and walked down some old steps that had not been visited for seemingly a long time. There were cobwebs on the ceiling and it felt very cold and damp.

He opened more fire doors and came out into a corridor of the museum. He hadn't been to the upper floors at all last time he had been with Lagnok. There were many windows which made the corridor flash with light every time the lightning struck. Carefully he closed the door behind him and crept along it unsure of where to go or what direction he was going in. Through the window it was pretty much too dark to tell what was going on in the gardens anymore. Bright as the lightning was it only illuminated blindingly everything for a second. The criminals were much more likely to see him up here then he was to see them down in the dark.

He tried some of the doors but most of them were locked. One door he found ajar and crept into a cafeteria on the second floor. Everything was dark and wooden chairs were up on tables – everything deserted, everything silent. Carefully he closed the door behind him and looked about him in the blackness. It was like a ghost room.

There was a noise of wind and in the opposite windows a Mech-Platform rose into view with bright headlights lighting up the room in a blinding white glow. Megufu dived and hid behind the bar as the flying machine moved slowly to the side searching the room from outside. White coated men rested their hands casually onto small metal poles ascending out of the floating metal platform. The Mech-Platform was coulered in yellow and black stripes and had two headlights pointing out of the bottom; a great blade spinning round underneath. The men were wearing black circular glasses and looked in inquisitively for awhile into the building, before one shook his head at the others and gestured pointing in another direction. The platform hovered for awhile before the men pressed buttons on the poles and went swinging away out of sight, the men being kept level by an artificial field of gravity. Megufu sighed with relief. He wasn't sure whether he should try to be seen or not.

Carefully he crept under the tables and exited through swinging double doors into the kitchens. He was met with torch light and a long row of faces at the back wall. All the tables and kitchen equipment had been turned aside and pushed either over or to the back of the wall. There was debris of a shattered plate on the floor.

"What's going on?" whispered a man sharply coming forward. He was dressed in black. A door burst open at the end of the room and two more men came in holding shinny black magi-tech weapons in black coats. One of the people crouched at the back of the room whimpered on the ground.

"Shut up you!" said one of the men, "Who the hell are you?" he said to Megufu

"There's a change of plan," said Megufu snappily, "We're to move now and go to the gardens"

"You what? Why the hell are we doing that?"

"Who is this geeza I don't recognize him!" said one of the other three

"Who the heck are you?"

"Shut your bloody mouth before I pull your teeth out!" said Megufu sharply, "If you want to stay here when they blow up this side of the building then be my guest"

"Blow it up?"

"What about the hostages?" said the one directly in front of Megufu. Megufu shrugged, "Bring them with us"

"You lot get up!" hissed another harshly – there was no response, "Come on up, quickly!" he growled pointing his weapon at one of the kneeled women. They got up nervously and came hustled together crying and distraught. Thunder and lightning flashed as they entered the cafeteria. Megufu caught his hip on a table nervously and cringed in pain trying to pretend it didn't happen. Behind him the terrorists followed pointing their weapons and cursing at the hostages. Distantly a siren hummed as an enforcer magi-wheel made its way to the scene. Megufu went first through the corridor ahead of the others.

This was purposeful. As one of the men came into the corridor Megufu made his move. The door swung shut briefly and he was left in the corridor with one of the terrorists. This was his chance.

"Let me see that," he said walking forward. The man looked up in surprise before Megufu kicked him hard in the shins and grabbed the weapon. The man wouldn't let go so Megufu swung him round in shock and smashed him through the window. He didn't even scream as his hand dribbled away from the weapon, he just fell down into the garden where below shouts went up.

"Shit!" shouted Megufu, "What the hell was he doing? He's fucking hurt bad!"

Silently he slid the bar up to 200 his hands gripping trigger at the ready.

"What's going on?" said one of the black coated man opening the door. Just as the door began to close Megufu fired a burst of electricity frying the man he stood paralyzed the electricity coursing through his body. As smoke started to rise Megufu took his finger off of the button and the man flew back down the corridor and landed in a crumpled heap. There was still one more.

"You fucking bastard you killed them all!" shouted the third from inside, "Take one more step and I'll blow the brains out of the hostages you hear me?"

"This isn't working," whispered Megufu listening to the noises of shouts from across the building, "I've really messed this up"

From his pocket he clutched the dragoon spirit and looked grimly at the floor, "It might just work," he thought silently. With a flash of purple he transformed into a dragoon the wings stretching back. He was in his element tonight with darkness everywhere.

"What the hell are you doing?" came the voice from inside. Several of the hostages cried out in fear.

Megufu would take to these black skies naturally. Running forward through the broken window he jumped out holding the gun that for some reason seemed to have become attached to his arm. Holding a metal bar that had been part of the window he flung himself up flipping through the air he crossed over the roof of the building spell fire sounding out below. There was a clang and an explosion as a burnout hit a drain pipe. The people in the garden were aiming at him.

Crossing over the roof he spun to a halt at the other side of the building and looked in on the cafeteria the same way that the Mech-platform had looked in except that as a dragoon he gave off no light. He could see the man standing in dry panicking his weapon pointed at the head of a hostage. He looked like he was shouting something at the door but through the rain and thunder it was impossible to tell what. Megufu braced himself hovering back a little. Like a dagger he thrust himself forward smashing through the glass straight towards the man. He looked up in surprise as tables and chairs were knocked clean out of sight. Megufu grabbed him by the collar and feet briefly touching the ceiling, exited through the new hole. Spinning up to new heights the man screaming he flung him letting go. The man fell down into the dark streets below cameras flashing; Megufu retreated quickly into the cafeteria before his power ran out. With a flash again he was normal holding the weapon in his hand he slumped to the ground exhausted.

The hostages didn't move scared out of their minds. Panting he tried to get up but he couldn't move. There were footsteps down the corridor. A moment later and a man ran in wearing black and pointed a Magi-Tech machine at him with a click and a hum of magic, "Don't move!" he shouted. Several more men burst in. Megufu tried the stone but it only glowed softly. He ached and there was nothing left in him to make it work. He dropped his weapon and put his hands up.


	15. Defilement of Styx

Chapter15: Defilement of Styx

Megufu was surprised they hadn't killed him in a case like this. The building was surrounded by enforcers waiting any second to make a move and here they were taking him prisoner. It didn't quite make sense. They'd taken his weapon and the stone and currently they were marching him down steps to the first floor. There were many of them walking, ten in all. It was hard to tell who they worked for. It was probable that they were Gehrich Mafia in what seemed like one of their biggest moves. Then again where Gehrich was Virage wasn't far away. It was not good for Endiness that the two largest crime organizations worked well together. When Megufu had worked for Virage he had been on many jobs big and small involved with the Gehrich.

Outside the rain was stopping. Thunder rumbled in the distance - the wet had slowed to a drizzle.

They passed through the lower cafeteria of the museum and out into the gardens where men were fiddling with lots of heavy technical equipment. Wires were set up everywhere running back and forth to a green teleport pad in the center. It was there Megufu was brought in front of the statue. A door with old stone steps leading down was opened beneath the statue. This was where men had entered the day before. From inside a man walked out up the steps in a white expensive suit with a red tie. He had a black cane in his hand as he swaggered forward with dark black hair to match currently the same tone as Megufu's. His nose and skin were smooth and very pale like his fine suit. His hands were enrobed in fluffy clean white gloves. The grass was wet.

"Ah good it's stopped raining," he said quite charmingly. He turned suddenly to Megufu, "What are you doing here?"

"I came here to…"

A man beside him kicked him hard in the stomach and stepped forward towards the man in the white suit, "He was carrying nothing but a weapon and this black stone. He took out three guards and tried to free the hostages"

The man took the dragoon spirit and looked at it with vague amusement. He smiled darkly and looked Megufu up and down, "You're Megufu aren't you? The little fish that got away from a big hook. I'm surprised you're still alive"

"Who might you be?" asked Megufu still in pain from the blow

"My name's Cain. I'm a member of the Gehrich Mafia. Perhaps you might recognize this?" he said holding up a purple stone

"Its my stone," replied Megufu darkly, "That I was sent to get,"

"Wrong actually," replied Cain with a laugh, "It's my stone that I was sent to get. You're stone is in my other hand. This stone is the dragoon spirit of Haschal the dragoon of lightning. Boss wants it so I was sent to get it"

"With all these men?" said Megufu dryly, "And there I was sent to get mine by myself"

"We thought we might steel a few objects at the same time," responded Cain with a wave of the hand, "A lucky stumble upon finding you here. In fact I've never known anything quite like it to happen on the trot – an excellent piece of luck"

"Why do you want the dragoon spirits?" asked Megufu, "What have they got to do with Virage?"

"Military weaponry," replied Cain, "They are a great source of power. The winglies were incredible creatures don't you think? Amazing that the more complicated aspects of their magic is still not understood today even after all this time. Dragoon spirits though – they outdate and out-do even the winglies"

"What are you going to do with me?" asked Megufu

"That depends on you," replied the man with a smile, "Can you fight?"

"Yes," replied Megufu, "I studied the Rouge art for five years"

"Really?" laughed Cain, "Then maybe we can have a little fun before I kill you. Let him go. I want to see how good he is"

The men moved away. Megufu looked either side of him and up at the statue in confusion, "What is this some kind of joke?"

"Depends how badly you do," said Cain with a shrug, "Hurry up"

"Why? asked Megufu.

"Because if you don't I'll get bored and order my men to shoot you"

"Fair enough," said Megufu and circled the man wearily. Cain stood and did not move even when Megufu walked behind him.

"You are worryingly confident," said Megufu.

"I am better than you…" said the man – but that was when Megufu attempted to strike. His blow that was aimed at the man's head was diverted as he received a chop on his back; with as little movement as the gesture of a hand he was flung across the grass.

"It was a nice thought," laughed Cain twiddling his little stick, "That you might catch me off guard while I was talking"

Megufu forced himself up and began circling again.

"I have studied Rouge since I was four until now. Now I am twenty-six"

"You should get out more," said Megufu cynically

"You little brat. I'll teach you a lesson for that remark," said Cain tightening his fists. Megufu attacked again and found himself kicked in the shins and flung head over heels onto the ground. He got up quickly in defense and tried to block as Cain attacked but the man was too advanced for him. He took several blows in the head and blood drizzled down his nose.

"It seems amazing that someone as weak as you was chosen by a dragoon spirit"

"It seems amazing that someone as ugly as you could…" began Megufu before he was kicked in the side twice.

"You're quite an upstart Megufu. It's amazing what people like you get taught in Virage"

Megufu tried to speak but couldn't. He spat blood onto the grass. The huge statue loomed over them all the rain drizzling down his neck.

"Are we ready to leave yet boss?"

"I think so…" said Cain, "First though I have to kill Megufu. It's clear that you were no match for my unmatched skills"

"Your skills are pathetic"

"You what?" said Cain angrily turning round to Megufu.

Megufu didn't respond.

"What did you say?" he asked again. Getting angry he walked forward towards Megufu ready to strike him. A man stepped forward from the darkness seemingly out of nowhere.

"I said your skills are pathetic," it was Lagnok.


	16. Unwritten Words

Chapter16: Unwritten words

Faster than Megufu could have imagined that old man shot a fist forward and knocked Cain clean off his feet. There was a click of guns but Lagnok was prepared throwing a flashing item down on the floor. Pellets were fired at him but they bounced off of an invisible shield. Taking out two flashing spells from a bag he flung them on either side. They were gravity grabbers a powerful earth magic. The ground where the surrounding men were standing crumpled and up heaved itself many of them shattering on the spot.

"Who are you?" said Cain getting to his feet.

"My name is Lagnok a martial artist. I have come here to ask you why you have defiled the grave of Haschal and dishonored Styx"

"A martial artist?" said Cain, "Lets see how long you last against me old man"

Cain spat on the grass and took his white gloves off. Dropping his cane he ran forward and shouted, "Summon Four Gods!"

There was a blur of action as he dodged aside round Lagnok several times. Thrusting forward he found the air empty. Lagnok had moved himself.

"You are nothing compared to Haschal," said the old man head a shoulders above him in height.

"How did you do that?" said Cain in amazement, "How did you avoid that? Nobody should be able to avoid that technique. The sensei who taught me that move was the last person in the world who knew it"

"Your Sensei was an idiot and taught you the move too slow," replied Lagnok

"Who are you really?" choked Megufu on the ground.

"Who are you old man?"

The old man walked across the grass towards Cain. Cain tried to defend himself but Lagnok simply pushed through and grabbed him by the neck lifting him up high. With his other hand he plucked the black stone from him and threw it to Megufu.

Dropping Cain in a crumpled heap Lagnok turned to look at Megufu, "Somehow I always knew that you were a dragoon from the moment I met you. You had that same thing that the others had… that special destiny, you knew where you were going"

"You're name backwards!" whispered Megufu, "It's K… Kongal! You were…"

"Yes I was," he replied, "I was there in the second dragon campaign. I was there when the god of destruction fell. I was there when Doel declared war on Albert the 1st. It was I who with Haschal wrote the book"

"Why are you still alive after all this time?"

Kongal sighed and looked up at the giant statue above him, "I am Gigantos. I am the last of the Gigantos. Gigantos live for a long time"

Cain turned in fear and ran over to a man in a white lab coat, "Give me the device"

"But it hasn't been tested yet!" he pleaded

"Give it to me now!" he ordered and snatched a purple arm band from the person.

"The Purple Dragoon spirit may not recognize me… but Lloyd the wingly made the divine spirit recognize him. Thus with this I can make the thunder dragoon recognize me!"

Holding the purple stone in his hand there was a flash of lightning and Cain transformed. Lagnok walked over to Megufu calm as the earth and helped him to his feet.

"Can you turn into a dragoon one more time?" asked Kongal as if the ocean itself were calm and still as ice. There was no flutter of a heart beat or worry in his face as if he had known that all of this would come to pass.

"Maybe," choked Megufu tightening his grip around the darkness dragoon spirit, "Maybe I can to put this git out of his misery"

"That ring will probably give him power to control that spirit which he should have earned not gained. He will however have no knowledge of how to use his power. He is not in truth a dragoon – but a clown wrapped up in powers that don't recognize him. He has not been chosen like we have. Stay close to me – if he glows with lightning then scatter as he will cast a spell – if he knows how"

The old man held out a dark yellowy stone. There was a rumbling from deep within the earth and his old hand shaking with the power he transformed yellow armour surrounding him as he became the dragoon of the earth. Megufu looked up angrily at Cain and forced the darkness spirit to obey him. There was a flash of dark purple and he too transformed black armour surrounding his body. Their wings stretched back behind him. Compared to the large experienced presence of Kongal Megufu felt week and frail in comparison.

"Take this!" roared Cain. His hands glowed with electricity and he fired a bolt of energy directly towards them.

"Scatter!" said Kongal firmly and both of them flew to the skies. Megufu knew he couldn't do much as weak as he was but what he could do was threaten. Continually he flew round Cain as if he were about to attack. The ploy worked as Cain tried to block Megufu's blow which never came. Kongal went straight for the kill with a roar he slammed into Cain fists glowing with strength. The two of them struggled flying through the air. Cain screamed as he felt himself losing control as they went higher and higher. Taking his hands he grabbled Kongal round the neck and began coursing electricity through his body. Kongal roared at the height of the sky and started a vertical plummet towards the ground.

The earth below came up faster and faster. Megufu felt he was helpless as he watched. The gehrich men below watched in amazement as the battle took place. There was an earth shattering crash as the two of them smashed into the ground debris going everywhere. The shock caused the huge statue to sink and lean.

Kongal emerged from the hole in the ground but Cain didn't. Megufu came forward to hover by Kongal who waited above. A moment later the purple dragoon shot up clearly wounded from the blow. One leg hung limp as he hovered in the air and his flying seemed erratic. Megufu charged him closely followed by Kongal. Megufu sparred with Cain who seemed unfamiliar with how to fight in the air. Even so Megufu was halted and kicked back as Kongal once again entered the frame. Kongal grabbed the dragoon by the feet and swinging him round three times flung him into the giant statue. There was a bang as the huge black statue broke in the center. Crumbling it crashed slowly to the ground Cain staggering from the wreckage and trying not to be caught in the blocks. Below the Gehrich tried desperately to protect the teleport-pad. Cain was powerful with that armband but he was nothing compared to the experienced Kongal.

Megufu charged him and sped forward through the air. Cain only just responded with a series of kicks and punches. Cain managed even so to stop Megufu and sent him hurtling down towards the ground. He collapsed on the grass. Kongal charged him next and Cain tried to flee.

"Catch!" shouted one of the men below and flung up something small and black. Cain grabbed it mid flight and flew as fast as he could away from Kongal who was hot in pursuit. They crashed against the walls and passed round the museum smashing windows and trashing trees in the gardens. Megufu saw it from afar with shock and horror as they passed over a circular fountain near the center. Cain turned suddenly and stabbed Kongal fiercely with a yellow flaming sword.

Kongal faltered in mid air and sank slowly in mid air.

"You didn't count on that did you big fella?" laughed Cain and releasing the sword flew away towards the teleport.

"Get the port ready!" he shouted and the men below began flicking switches. Megufu slammed into him mid flight.

"You bastard!" he shouted the two of them rolling across the ground. They stopped and Cain emerged on top pinning Megufu to the ground their wings sprawled out around them. Hands glowing with electricity Cain began punching Megufu over and over again. Megufu felt the pain hurting more and more and screamed out in agony. Over and over again Cain punched him anger and pleasure in his face.

"Take that you smug little brat"

The pain suddenly stopped and Cain faltered.

The same blade now stuck out of his own chest. He touched it slowly at first not quite sure what it was. The flames disappeared as the black handle dropped to the floor. Kongal was behind him as a dragoon blood dripping down his mouth.

"I'm dead," said Cain slumping to the side. There was a flash of purple and he was human again blood staining his white suit but no mark on his body. It was as if the wound had penetrated from within killing him. Kongal coughed kneeling down on the ground.

"You've killed me," whispered Cain, "I didn't think I'd die like this"

Kongal smiled looking down at him, "I knew a man who died like this – except I didn't really know him. His name was Lavitz a knight of Serdio. The dragon buster pierced his heart too. They tell me he was a good man"

"I am not a good man," said Cain softly, "At least you have that old man"

"You did your best," chuckled Kongal in pain, "you should have practiced more"

Cain slumped slowly to the ground his chest slowing. He stopped moving the dragoon spirit in his curled hand, "I did my best," he whispered. His fingers released. Megufu shone purple and was normal unable to maintain the spirit any longer. His face was covered in blood and bruises as he crawled forward to meet with Kongal.

"What happened?" he pleaded, "What happened back there?"

"He…" said Kongal slowly and in pain, "He stabbed me with the buster. I too am dead. The only reason I've lasted this long is because of my strength. You can be strong too"

"You are the last of the dragoons…" said Megufu tears coming to his eye, "You can't die!"

"I can die and I will die…" said Kongal blood dripping down his mouth, "It is my right to die grant me that… I have lived this long. The last Gigantos I am but I am not the last dragoon… there is another one. Her name is Meru… you must find her in Demingrad… the forest. She is the last wingly in Endiness – only she can show you how to become a true dragoon"

"What about you? You can live on! You are strong!"

"I am dead already. I should have died a long time ago"

There was a soft glow of earthy light and the old man was normal again blood staining his chest. He sank to the ground and Megufu moved in to support him, "You can't die! I won't have you die – not now! You are an amazing… amazing…"

"They… think they know how things work. They don't know anything… they don't know what its like to look at things without considering their worth. I was with him when Haschal died. I was there at his funeral and yet I lived on – and on. I was there and they would have kept me like an antique – a possession and look at me for my worth. I had to move on. I had to disappear like in the legend. Dragoons only appear when history needs them so I went away. I forgot myself. I am Lagnok…"

"No… no you are Kongal! You are the greatest of the dragoons!"

"I was the weakest of the dragoons," he laughed, "They always knew what they were doing – I never did. I never had a purpose – I learned that with time. I learned through others how to talk – how to speak how to understand. I learned the Rouge way. I watched my friends die from old age. I had friends… now I have no more freinds"

"I am your friend old man!" said Megufu now tears coming steadily from his eyes blood soaking his hands.

"I have friends?" said the old man his eyes closed, "Meru was friend. You must seek Meru… Kongal have friends. Kongal have friends now"

"You have me… you have your past!"

"What would Doel have thought? What would Doel say… when I… Kongal have friends – it seems like"

The wind howled.

"It seems like old time again"

Most of the men had escaped through the teleporter. There was only silence in the wake. The old hero's hand released the stone and Megufu's head sank to the ground. It felt like there was nothing for him now. There was only silence.


	17. Thief

Chapter17: Thief

"… Hello you're here with me Japhael Magrin with the mid-morning news. The Rouge authorities have been gripped in panic today after there was a terrorist incident at the Rouge Heritage museum. The age old tomb of the legendary thunder dragoon Haschal has been opened illegally by what we can only imagine as some terrorist group. Enforcers stormed the museum after several explosions in what can only be described as a magic battle took place in the gardens of the museum. Hostages were taken and three were wounded severely and have since been magically healed"

"We'll go now to Mappiri Long who's at the scene now. Mappiri what's the situation down there?"

"Well Japh currently the enforcers are not letting us inside the museum, but what we have been told is that the statue of Haschal that has stood for so long has been toppled and wrecked split in half down the middle. It's not yet known whether it's possible to repair the statue. The tomb itself was buried under the debris which is still being cleared. The terrorists whoever they were, were attempting to set up a port inside the building presumably so that they could take out as much loot as possible…"

"So we're told, there was some kind of conflict, is that true Mappi?"

"They're not willing to tell us much. As you can see behind me enforcers are everywhere surveying the scene. The captain of the guard has told me that they've got just about every mech-platform in Rouge out here surveying the scene. There were certainly explosions sounding from within the complex but as to what was going on – in regards to a battle as you said we have really not much of an idea"

"Thankyou very much Mappiri – that was Mappiri Long at the Rouge Heritage Museum. Now as you may or not remember there's also been a similar break in to the black tower in Kazas. One of the scientists who was working on the strange rock has made an appeal today for the terrorist who stole it to return it for the sake of science…"

Megufu pulled out the price tag of the black coat and flung it on the floor. It was a wet rainy day and puddles were everywhere. He watched the image box from behind glass in the street. The shop was shut and had a closed sign on the entrance of the door. A magi-wheel screeched round the corner with a flash of blue sparks and splashed Megufu from head to toe driving away at high speed. Teenagers were waving their hands out the windows laughing at him as it sped off. He cursed silently under his breath.

Dripping wet he walked down the street passed an overturned dustbin and entered into an alleyway that was adjacent to the electronic shop. The shop was red brick and at the end of the alleyway was a large metal wire fence with a red square sign saying "Keep out". Looking up he noticed an open window on the wall of the shop. The walls weren't close enough to climb. He'd have to get in another way.

With a flash of purple dark light he shot up and grabbed hold of the ledge his head hitting the glass above in pain. Scrambling – the wings getting in the way he shoved himself in and rolled onto the floor in the room above. With another flash of light he was normal and rubbing his head.

The room was untidy with a bed and an open wardrobe – clothes were everywhere. Carefully Megufu searched the room for anything he could use. There was some jewelry hidden away in a draw next to the bed which he took. Under the bed there was a metal safe that he couldn't get into. He left it for the moment and searched the wardrobe briefly. An image box was turned off in the corner of the room. Rain drizzled down the windows.

He passed briefly through the door into the bathroom quietly. It seemed like nobody was home which was lucky for him. The owners of the shop had probably gone on holiday or something. There was a kid's room with a skull and cross bones on the door. He didn't enter it.

In the bathroom Megufu searched through the cupboards. He found several healing potions and a mind and body purifier. He took them all and shaved in the mirror. In the kitchen which was also on the upper floor he found a fridge with some food in it. There was a pack of chocolate éclairs and a half empty container of milk. There was some soup wrapped up in a bowl and a blue plastic box of mushrooms. Taking preference Megufu ate the éclairs and drank the milk. He found a pack of biscuits in a cupboard which he also ate.

Walking back to the bedroom he dragged the safe out from under the bed and put it on the floor. From his coat he took out the strange sword that had killed both Cain and Kongal. There was just the handle as he took it out but a moment later it burst into yellow flames the blade appearing by magic. It seemed to be activated somehow by the thought of attack. As soon as Megufu decided to strike the blade was there in flames.

"Lets see if this works," he said bringing it down. There was a clang and the safe door was cut clean off its hinges. Inside there was a large pile of notes wrapped up with an elastic band. Megufu took them all and stuffed them in his coat pockets. Leaving the room he walked down the stairs. In the shop he found some more money in the till which he also took. Image boxes and technological gadgets were everywhere. The ones in the windows were on but others were just on shelves turned off collecting dust. Batteries and gum were on sail just in front of the till. He left unlocking the front door from the inside he closed it behind him the image box still blaring away. As he left he just realized that they couldn't have gone on holiday if they'd left the box on. He'd been lucky. They'd probably just gone out for a meal somewhere. He walked away down the street feeling slightly but not completely guilty.

"… whoever he is and wherever he is and whoever he works for – he's a dangerous man. If anyone knows him or thinks they have seen him then please can they tell the authorities immediately. This rock whatever it is must be found. It could hold the key to self replenishing power sources. This man is dangerous and is certainly not working for just reasons. He must be stopped"


	18. Across the Sky

Chapter 18: Across the Sky

"Well I have to admit matey that I'm quite puzzled. If you're trying to get to Demingrad I don't know why the hell you don't get a port. If you took one from Gbazu south Rouge you could move straight to Ralaport then Fletz and Demingrad very quickly. Everyone ports these days. If you were going somewhere across the sea I wouldn't question it but why on earth do you want to go all the way to Demingrad without a port?"

"Good question," replied Megufu, "I'll tell you why. I'm an artist. I don't want to just port places. I want to see things and breath in the air. I want to see what it used to be like before people could just teleport. I want to see the wide world of Endiness – not just the one we all know today"

"You're crazy," laughed the ship owner, "I got some bad news for you though. We ain't going to Demingrad"

"Where are you going then?" asked Megufu with a sigh

"Barfa in Mille Seseau. We're a transport ship. We're importing vegetables for Harzi-Enterprises"

"That's on the way though isn't it?"

"You could look at it that way," he laughed, "Have you ever been to Mille Seseau?"

"Never in my life," replied Megufu honestly, "Come to think of it I haven't been to Demingrad either"

"Mille Seseau's a desert. Trust me you don't want to go there. There isn't anything in Mille Seseau except for sand worms and bad tempered farmers. There's a couple of towns here and there with ranchers and stuff but Barfa's the only small city. It's a farming city and that's about it. Very few people go there except to trade. There's a fast road up north into Demingrad which I guess if you had a magi-wheel you could drive it but…"

"That's fine. I probably won't find anyone else who'd be going that far by air in Rouge"

"You're making a mistake matey. You sure you want to tag along?"

"That I do," replied Megufu firmly.

"What are you offering then?"

"300 Kerbs as we agreed"

"I'd barta for more heh, but I'm in a good mood today. I'll let you off with that"

"Thankyou, I greatly appreciate it," said Megufu, "Who else will be with you?" he asked carefully thinking warily of the authorities.

"About fourteen workmen. Three or four farmers who were on holiday in Rouge returning home as well. I'm just surprised you're coming. I've never had anyone on board who didn't live in either Rouge or Barfa," the ship owner looked at the ground for a moment and then up again slyly, "You're not in any trouble are you? You're not on the run or something?"

"No," replied Megufu quickly, "Just artistic purposes that's all"

"Good," laughed the man, "Because I wouldn't have a criminal aboard my ship"

"I understand perfectly. I'll warn you if I see any"

"Heh… you're a laugh you are. Alright then matey, we'll set off in an hour. It's quite breezy up there so if you want to walk around the deck you might want to wrap up warm – but I see you've got a coat anyway. You'd probably prefer to stay under deck I'd imagine as it really does get quite chilly at night"

"Is it hard work keeping the ship running?"

"For a few people such as my self yes. The rest are just here to help unload things. I'll let you off that since you're paying"

"Sorry I don't believe I have your name…"

"Pichel – Captain Pichel and yourself?"

"Megufu," answered Megufu

"Alright then Megufu, I'll see you later"

"Again thanks very much"

The ship itself was a great metallic monster. It was one of the floating freights that Megufu knew only too well from his days working in Lohan in Dale. They'd float slowly overhead shadowing the ground in a worrisome black. It was run by magic of course as all things were in Endiness. It was a huge metallic oval shaped thing with pipes and metal grilling wrapped around it. In length it was about three quarters the height of the twin castles in Fletz. For such a huge thing Megufu was surprised at how few people were on board to run it.

When it finally took off it did so with a loud roar of wind and elevated vertically slowly until it was above the clouds. There was a continual noise of motors and propellers all throughout the flight. Behind him as the clouds parted Megufu watched as Rouge disappeared. Distantly he could see the museum as a dot on the horizon. Slowly it disappeared below the clouds and so did what he knew of Kongal. Above him the sky was blue and the sun shone brightly in the sky. It made him think of the dragoons.

There were four decks to the ship. The third contained the control room near the front where Pichel steered and storage to the back. The fourth was just storage space and the second was for people to sleep in. The 1st was of course on top in the air with the continual noise of the motors. Railings were everywhere to stop people falling into machinery or even off the platform. There were two large vents with fans inside on the top that Megufu found himself staring into.

It was an overnight trip - so Pichel had said in their conversation. Megufu spent a long time walking across the top of the ship. He was reluctant to talk to the other workers. He kept himself wrapped up and spent most of the time near the edge gazing down at the clouds and thinking of what crazy things had happened to him in the last few weeks. The black coat, he was wearing, had been stolen from a mall in Rouge. The money he had stolen from an electronic shop. It seemed to him quite defeating that as a 'legendary dragoon', he had to resort to stealing and thieving to survive.

In his possession, he now had three dragoon spirits – one of which was his. At least as they were now, they couldn't be doing any harm elsewhere, and while he had three it meant that it was impossible for anyone to make up the set of seven. Somehow it had all become so much more than the money that he had been offered on the first day. He had become a rebel against Virage by force. There had been no choice in the matter. Phleg would have killed him if the spirit hadn't reacted and shown him its true coulers.

It was a refreshing feeling being up in the air. The black coat made him feel comforted somehow. The spirit liked the dark couler and the security. Somehow he knew that. The dragoon spirit had a mind of its own.


	19. Air Turbulence

Chapter19: Air Turbulence

_When I was young I flew on wings across the sky so high. There were many of us then of all the elements. My memory fails me. I was always the loneliest - always._

_I am a dragoon._

_All Hail Diaz._

_All Hail King Albert._

_When I was young I was lonely too. I was an orphan boy like so many tragic others. I had to make a living some how._

_You stole – you killed – you murdered. You are irresponsible and damned._

_It reminds me somehow of this machine that floats. Or maybe this reminds me of then. Somehow things never worked out the way they were planned._

_It is always the way._

_You have lost the way._

_I'll Kill Her!_

_She was always so lonely._

_I had not foreseen that they would all die the way they did. It made her so lonely that he was not there for her._

_The moon child descends upon the earth to fill the world with holy bliss except that the Black Monster devours her._

_There has only been one before you._

_There has only been one before me? Why me now? Why am I any different?_

_They are after you and if they catch you they will kill you and enslave me into their machine._

_Why do they want the dragoon spirits?_

_Why does anyone want the dragoon spirits?_

_Power. Raw power._

_It is the will of the creator Soa._

_ The God of destruction will destroy the world. When light fails darkness shows the way. It is an ill omen when Hell lights Heaven's doorway._

_They are after me?_

_They are after you now! _

He woke up. He was still on board and it was almost pitch black inside the cabin. There was a soft hum in the air of the machinery. Again the dragoon spirit – it was resonating with a dark purple light. Megufu's heart was beating fast. Something was wrong and he knew it. In his dream he had been warned.

Grabbing his things he dressed himself and pulled the black coat around him. Leaving the small cabin he walked down the metal corridor being careful to make as little noise as possible. It was difficult as the floor was metal grated and it was easy to clang. His shoes sounded soft against the metal like a large out of tune metal bell being tapped quietly at one pitch. The hum of machinery was hypnotic. It had been difficult to get to sleep in the first place.

The wind was blowing harshly on the deck. It was very cold as Megufu looked around him. It was hard to see anything through the clouds. How far they were from Rouge Megufu could not be certain. For the first time in the chaos since that phone call Megufu wished very strongly that he was back at home – that is if he had a home to call on. It had probably been searched and burned to the ground by now by either of the two mafias. It would be difficult to know what to go back to.

In the distance Megufu saw the problems. The dragoon spirit resonated softly in his pocket. In the distance there were lights – many of them coming closer. The Rouge Enforcers were on to him. There must have been ten or eleven Mech platforms following them. Rouge was probably in a state of national emergency after the museum incident. They had probably left the island before enforcers could be dispatched to check this cargo. Now it seemed that the enforcers had come to them to stop them going any further.

"What do I do now?" he whispered to himself. Unsure he hid himself behind one of the far large air vents and peered out from the shadows. The platforms came closer and closer until they pulled up beside the ship on both sides.

"This is the Rouge Enforcers – we have a search warrant for the ship – drop your speed now!" boomed a voice. Megufu ducked as one of the Mech platforms circled round scarily close to him. There was nothing between him and the platform for several seconds apart from a safety barrier and the night darkness. The head lamps blazed out over the ship illuminating different parts like spotlights in a dance hall. Several of the Mech Platforms stopped over the ship and gently came to land. Small metallic holding legs shot out the bottom to protect the propellers from being damaged. The enforcers on board jumped off smoothly and landed on the deck. They spoke to one of the crew who looking very flustered ran off down the steps in a hurry. They waited impatiently and one loaded a magi-tech weapon with a Burning Wave spell. They looked at each other purposefully talking softly amongst themselves with deadly serious expressions.

Captain Pichel came out looking sleepily from side to side. Evidently someone else had been doing the night shift. Him and the enforcers spoke together but it was impossible for Megufu to make out what the Captain or the enforcers were saying.

Seeming to agree on something they all walked down the stairs to the lower decks. Evidently the Captain was probably taking them to the room Megufu had been staying in. Had Megufu still been there his chances of getting to Demingrad would have been slim. The deck was mostly empty now. There were still platforms hovering here and there around the ship but even so, it was only a matter of time before they found him.

"I'll take my chances while I have them," thought Megufu to himself. Pushing up he ran through the darkness and dodged once across the deck to avoid a spot light as it shot passed. Jumping up he climbed onto one of the docked Mech platforms. He was surprised how easy it was to balance on the thing. There seemed to be an artificial field of gravity that held you in place as you stood on the actual platform.

Having no knowledge of how to work the machine Megufu was surprised when he managed to get the thing to take off. The propeller started and the control panel gave way to the control stick. Leaning on it he pushed in the direction he wanted to go and it flew.

"You stop!" came a voice from the other platforms. Megufu ignored it and pushed the stick hard so that he left the safety of the ship behind. Below him he could see the ocean roaring with the tides. The other platforms screeched into action with a whirring of noise followed him. An explosion of flames rocketed in the air just missing Megufu. It was a sharp reminder that they had weapons and he didn't.


	20. Disorientation

Chapter20: Disorientation

The Mech platform swayed and rocked in the wind as he crossed the waves. Megufu had no idea how to pilot this thing. It seemed as far as he could see looking back at his enemy that they had at least two or three people per platform working gears, panels and levers. If they caught him they would undoubtedly bring him back to Rouge and Serdian combined justice. They could charge him for crimes against the human species if they caught him – such was the severity of his crimes. A burst of lightning shot out smacking the platform hard. He felt the electricity running through him and his body tensed in pain; his eyes closed clenched and tight.

The bolt stopped but the damage was done. The platform had caught fire and was starting to drop in altitude.

"Warning, artificial gravity unstable"

Megufu took his chances and jumped off. With a flash he was a dragoon sailing through the night air. He took out the sword, which burst into life and charged towards the platforms below his own transport crashing into the waves.

"What in Soa's name!" exclaimed someone in the night.

Flying backwards he passed under one of the platforms and passed the sword across the bottom wrecking the propeller. It slowed and sank towards the sea the men on board panicking.

They shot at him with a burning wave but the flames missed and sank into the sea. He attacked the next at high speed the sword cutting through all the pilots on board in one swipe. Nothing was severed but instead the men slumped to the ground as if the wound had come from within. The sword was deadly it was no wonder that it had killed Kongal.

A spark of dark magic rippled in his left hand.

He could feel the power of the dark dragoon spirit stronger than ever.

"What is this?" he said gazing out across the waves.

There was a crack of darkness and pointing the sword forward a beam of solid night struck one of the platforms right out of the sky. It turned round several times the noise of the propeller screeching in the night. The men fell screaming in different directions into the waves below one bumping off of the metal hovercraft. Fire burst out on the waters lighting up the waves in an eerie glow.

"I can use magic?" he asked himself, "Of course I can… I'm a dragoon"

He had waited too long pondering the power. A blast of white light hit him hard and sent him thrashing and screaming through the sky like a beast. Megufu smashed into the freezing waves below clutching the sword desperately his eyes temporarily blinded. They'd gotten him. He looked out unsure what was sky and what was water.

He thrashed about on the waves. In the darkness he found a large sharp piece of strange metal – probably part of one of the rotor blades. It floated well and he rested on it trying not to slip off. He was no longer a dragoon as he looked at his hands. He was in such pain he hadn't even noticed the transformation. The light had hurt him. He had never been hurt so much in his life. They'd hit him against his element.

"Search the area!" called the enhanced voice of one of the remaining men, "Search for survivors!"

The lights crossed the waves and Megufu prayed they wouldn't see him in the dark. He was wet all over and the salt water was extremely cold. He was shivering in a matter of minutes.

The bright spot lights passed again and again over the waves. They passed briefly over him several times but even with the bright light it seemed the men couldn't make him out against the waves. The ship hummed distantly as he drifted on the waves. He clutched the sword tightly. The blade was only tiny now and shimmering a soft blue. He was drifting away from them. He was wrecked and now at sea. If he had had any sense he would have handed himself in. Now he was doomed to die in the great ocean. Too late he waved and shouted but they didn't hear him. The lights were distant now and searching for friends not enemies. It was hard to see anything in the darkness and the waves rose high out at sea. It was impossible now to make out the ship.

He was too far away. He was falling away. His mind lost proper consciousness, his hands gripped the sword and the propeller tight. Megufu was by no means fearless. He had a morbid fear of drowning. He could imagine nothing worse than being under the waves with no air.

_We've been wrecked before we had, but I doubt we'll survive this time._

_Princess Louvia – why? We killed the wrong one how – stupid._

_Black monster. I was the black monster – or at least Rose was._

_Back then there were many dragons._

_Demingrad. If we had gotten there sooner we might have stopped it all then and there. So many times if we had been that little bit quicker we could have stopped it all. Now we're going to Demingrad again. I wonder what has happened to the crystal palace._

_We won't make it._

_The night is long. Anything can happen in the dark._

_The attack came at night._

_But if we had killed Shana ironically it would have been worse. Better the way things are done and over with. There is a soul still roaming the world but no body at least to that extent we are safe._

_I don't think I can make it._

_I don't think we're safe._

_I think you are overreacting._

_I don't want to drown._

_It's been a long night._

"Wake up!"

He was very tired. Even so he opened his eyes.

"Wake up!"

The sound of the sea. Was he still at sea? He felt himself rocking too and throw. The sun was bright and it was hard to look at anything. He coughed and water came up. He couldn't speak.

"You okay?"

What a stupid question. Who was asking him that?

"Are you Meru?" he whispered.

"Who?"

The noise of the sea lapped. The water felt very warm. He touched it with his hand. It wasn't sea – it felt curiously like sand. The propeller was underneath him. It was still just as sharp – easy to cut his hand on in the wet. A noise – a sea gull. He was on land.


	21. Solitary Confinement

Chapter21: Solitary Confinement

"Let me help you," said the voice.

It helped him stagger to his feet.

"Where am I?" he asked through a choked breath.

"No-mans land," replied the voice. He opened his eyes a crack. There was salt on his eyelids. The person was a 'she' with deep brown hair. She was wearing a grey ragged top and old black trousers that were torn in various places. There were no shoes on her feet.

"Where am I?" he repeated

"Twenty miles south of Gafura – farming village. We're on an unnamed beach"

"What continent?" he demanded looking at her in the eyes

"Mille Seseau," she replied surprised.

"Good," he said softly.

The sword blade had completely disappeared. Quietly he put it away amongst his wet coat pockets. His new shirt and trousers would be completely ruined. His hair was speckled with salt.

"What happened to you?"

"Air ship crash," he replied a headache pounding away. He was hardly able to think yet alone come up with a valid excuse.

"I see," she replied.

She didn't even seem to be surprised.

"What is your name?" she asked.

"Megufu," he replied and then coughed annoyed that he had just given away his real name.

"My name is Raga," she responded. She had a strange accent.

"Where is your home?"

"It's just over beyond that hill," she replied pointing.

His footprints were being left in the sand. The sand was wet. They would be erased by the next tide. The sky was sunny and breezy. The events of the night before were all hazy in his head. He was hardly able to think a straight line of thought.

"There is nobody else for miles around," she said at length.

"Why?" asked Megufu curiously

"I am a hermit. The land here is dangerous. We're in Tornado country. Waterspouts rise up off the sea. I've had my home wrecked too many times to count but at least it gets me away from people"

"You were saying…" said Megufu dryly

"You are the first person I have spoken to for 5 years"

"Why did you decide to seclude yourself?"

"Greediness. I decided that people were too selfish. I was originally a soldier in the Demingrad army"

"I thought they didn't allow women in the army?" said Megufu carefully

"Not in Serdio and Tiberoa they don't. I'm surprised you didn't know that it was different in Demingrad. Have you heard of Miranda?"

"Was she a dragoon?"

"Yes one of the three sacred sisters in the second dragon campaign. She put the law in place allowing women into the army after raiders from the west started attacking villages"

"You know your stuff," said Megufu quietly. He cringed in pain a moment stumbling on a stone.

"Easy now…" she said carefully helping him up. He couldn't stand without her support, "I know less than you think. I got fed up with people so I asked to be sent on a mission removed from home. I got sent as a missionary keeper of the peace to Mille Seseau. I was told about a witch in the hills who people were afraid of. I went to investigate and met with a woman who changed my life"

"Who was she?"

"Her name was Abrigal. I lived with her until her death. She taught me about medicine. She was an amazing woman who knew her place in the world"

"I'm sorry to hear that she died"

"I decided to follow in her footsteps and roam these forgotten lands. It is a beautiful life to live alone"

"I have to say it sounds tempting," replied Megufu, "I have not had a good experience of 'people'"

"Out here there is nobody to judge me. I can live as I please"

"Don't you get lonely?"

"I used to. Not any more"

"Your hands have calices on them," said Megufu looking that them

"I keep many plants. They need much work"

They came away from the beach through reeds and to Raga's house. It was a wooden shack. There was one bed inside and many wooden shelves with glasses on them.

"Sit down she said," and he did. Reaching up she took a bottle off of the top shelf and carefully brought it down. Taking the cork out she handed it to him saying, "Drink this"

"What is it?" he asked

"Healing Fog," she replied, "I made it myself"

Megufu did and felt immediately much better. His aches disappeared and several cuts and bruises healed up in an instant. Cracking two red rocks together several times she started a fire in the hearth.

"Thank you," said Megufu handing her back the empty bottle, "You have been very kind"

"Your welcome," she said taking a wooden bow off of a hook, "I'll be back. I have to hunt for something to eat"

"You hunt? With a bow?"

"Yes, I do," she replied, "I have to eat out here somehow. Warm yourself by the fire – it wouldn't do to let a guest go hungry"

Saying that she left the hut and walked away. It was desolate here. All he could here was the noise of the sea and the wind. It was beautiful yet so alone and silent. He was still soaked and was happy to sit by the fire. He checked his pockets to make sure he had not lost anything.

With a sigh of relief he took out his dragoon spirit. It was resonating slightly. He took off the black coat that was heavy with water and searched the pockets. Carefully he took out the other two dragoon spirits – the thunder and earth. Both were glowing dimly.

"That's uncanny," he said looking at the three of them. Gradually the light faded and dimmed down until it was nothing.

He gazed slowly into the flames and watched the sparks reach up the primitive chimney.

"I was lucky," he whispered, "very lucky"

The sea sounded distantly lapping gently over the sand. Somewhere a single bird twittered without any other to answer it.

"God…" he said to himself, "They'll still be after me"


	22. Noise of the sea

Chapter22: Noise of the sea

Megufu would have left right then if he hadn't felt so exhausted; but there were other things that also kept him in south Mille Seseau. For starters he didn't know where he was and hadn't been to this continent in his life. He had no idea of local custom or rules or even how the farmers of Mille Seaseau transported themselves. It was all a mystery to him. He had to wait until he was ready. He could find out maybe what he needed to know from this hermit. Demingrad and Meru seemed a long way from him at that moment.

Raga returned several hours later with a very large dead brown animal.

"What is it?" asked Megufu looking the thing over. It didn't seem to have any eyes legs or hands more resembling a very fat snake.

"Sandworm," replied Raga.

Megufu tried to help Raga with preparing the creature but she seemed to refuse wanting to do herself as she had done for the last five years. She was it seemed wanting to make conversation but unable to make it after being alone for so long. She had to think about the words before she said them. Five years was a long time to be by yourself in the middle of nowhere.

Preparing the Sandworm was a very messy business. Megufu was quite glad that he didn't have to help. Hungry as he was it tasted reasonable once chunks of it had been put into a soup. It was an unbelievable business just making a meal. Megufu got the impression that this was a special occasion for Raga. Normally she would probably not cook it. The shack was surprisingly tidy for what she had to do to eat. There were stains of blood on the wood that he began to notice that he had not seen before. It was inevitable that some of the sandworm would end up on the floor in the shack where there was hardly enough room for a kitchen and a bedroom in one.

Megufu sat on the floor and Raga the same putting wood on the fire.

"Where do you come from?" she asked

"I was born in Serdio but I live in Tiberoa," he replied, "Donau," he added.

"That is a long way away from here," she said, "why were you traveling across the ocean?"

"I was going to Barfa to get a job," he lied simply.

"I haven't been there for a long time," she said quietly almost to herself, "Why did the ship crash?"

"Ship crash?" said Megufu confusedly

"You said the ship crashed when I found you on the shore"

"Yes…" said Megufu quietly, "I don't know. It was chaotic"

"Then there will be other survivors?"

"No I don't think so"

"Why?"

"It was a fierce crash," he said weakly, "Its hard to imagine anyone surviving"

"Why did it crash though? What happened on board?"

"I don't know," he repeated, "It was dark. There was lots of noise. I think the engines might have stopped"

"You must be very tired"

"I am"

"You sleep in my bed tonight. I will sleep on the floor"

"That's fine I'll sleep on the floor don't worry about it…"

"I insist!" she insisted.

Megufu did not reply.

It became dark again much sooner than expected along the shoreline. The night seemed to have crept up on Megufu. For some reason he couldn't sleep. The bed itself was old and the sheets hadn't been washed properly for god knows how long. He felt dirty and unclean. Raga slept silently on the floor. There was only the noise of her breathing in the dark and the distant waves. She was pretty enough. Megufu felt almost that he could stay here.

But there was the fact that he was a dragoon now. Somehow he felt he had a responsibility at least to deliver the spirits in his possession to Meru whoever and wherever she was. She would know what to do with them. There was something sinister going on in the world and Megufu could some how feel it. There was a terrible sense of dread inside him of what would happen if he simply gave up. What would it lead to?

"Besides," he thought to himself, "I never had a very good experience of women"

Probably he thought to himself because he had never been honest. It was hard to admit to a girlfriend that you were a criminal agent working for the biggest mafia gang in the country. He'd lost the woman he loved most not through death or anger but because he had simply not had enough time for her. Always he had to do work for the syndicate – the Virage the Boss. He had worked his way up to the top in the hope of what? How foolish he had been.

He sat up in bed and looked towards the door. He could still hear the sea. A crack of moonlight was reaching under the door. Carefully he pulled back the sheets and crept across the shack stepping carefully over Raga. In the morning she would be wanting to take action – find survivors and go to the nearest town. Likely she would then find out for herself who Megufu was – a criminal. It was time to leave. Opening the door he crept out and closed it quietly behind him. It creaked quietly but the entire shack creaked in the wind all the time.

Looking about him he gazed over through a gap in the hills where he could see the sea. The ground was harsh the earth of Mille seaseau a muddy orange but here near the sea it was sandy with reeds sticking up here and there. The moon shone a half crescent over the sea shimmering beautifully over the waves.

"I guess I'll go this way," said Megufu turning to the unknown land. Quietly he set off leaving the shack behind him.

"Thank you," he said quietly over his shoulder.

The land of Mille Seseau stretched out before him.


	23. Into the earth

Chapter23: Into the earth

The land of Mille Seseau was harsh. While continents such as Serdio and Tiberoa had driven out a lot of their monsters through the inevitable industrialization of the nation, Mille Seaseau still had many remaining especially in the wild south that Raga lived in. There were all sorts of creatures in that place that time had forgotten. While the world had moved on Mille Seseau had remained a place of secrets. Megufu was surprised at the gall of the monsters which would come straight out of the blue and attack him. Most common were the giant winged bugs that buzzed loudly with a sharp long beak or sucker that it used as a weapon to try and suck blood. The magic sword would cut the things in two easily and Megufu was thankful to have it with him.

He was not sure exactly where he was heading. The sea had passed away a long time since and was no longer in view. The uneven ground and barren trees just seemed to go on forever with no path to follow.

It was at morning that trouble started. Megufu had been right to be worried. The enforcers had not given up and they were looking for him. As the sun was only just coming up over the distant hills, in another direction the bright white lights of mech-platforms were searching the land for him. Technically the enforcers weren't allowed to go to different countries to hunt for escaped criminals. The country was supposed to negotiate with the courts first and then they could be caught by the local police, tried, or sent to be tried, in another country. The presence of the enforcers in Mille Seseau was probably slightly illegal but due to the confused issues of who was in charge of Mille Seseau it would be difficult to see who would object if the enforcers followed him all the way to Barfa. Out here in no-man's land anything could go. The law belonged to the locals and Raga was the only local.

Megufu thought briefly of fighting them but he didn't know how many there were in the area. Besides he had no wish to go up against their weapons again. That bright light had shaken him to the core. If he hadn't been a dragoon it probably would have killed him out right. Breaking into a run he headed for a tall rocky hill that was on the edge of a dark forest. Seemingly there had been some kind of landslide as the trees here and there were hanging out at angles. Large boulders and stones were strewn about the bottom of the hill and all up the sides.

Clambering up he grazed himself several times slipping on stones. The noise of the mech-platforms were getting closer. He could hear the noise of the blades distantly getting louder and louder. He prayed that they hadn't seen him.

In the dark he found a small hole in the rock fall and looked into it. It was very dark. He climbed through anyway. Bits of tree roots got in the way and he had to push them aside. Unable to see where he was going he took out the dark dragoon spirit and held it in his hand. Dark at first it gradually began to glow so that he could see dimly where he was. The tunnel went on further and seemed to widen. Looking back up the tunnel he saw the white headlight of a mech-platform pass over. The noise grew very loud for a brief second. In the distance a second one passed over the night sky very high up; a steady beam of light descending from it across the landscape.

"What am I going to do?" he said to himself in the dark. His hands hurt from cuts on the rocks and his jeans and raincoat was muddy and still damp from the night before.

Even so he continued until he came deep down into the heart of the hill where a large cave reached up high into the earth. There was an underground lake reaching out far into the darkness. It was here that Megufu rested and drank from the water. It tasted good and was very refreshing.

Finding a place where there were softer stones he lay down and eventually fell asleep. The dragoon spirit lightning him up in a bubble from the dark surrounding him. The water glistened by the shore in a purple glow.

When Megufu awoke it was to a noise of cracking earth. The lake rumbled and he shot up withdrawing his sword that burst into a yellow burning flame. There was a scream in the darkness and then silence as the noise subsided. Continually like rain rocks fell into the lake causing ripples from the after shock. A gentle orange light was emanating distantly from the mouth of the tunnel. It was morning outside.

"Who's there?" he called

There was silence. Nobody replied. He waved the sword twice and held out the dragoon spirit that flashed into bright light.

"Who's there!" he shouted

A weak fearful voice responded, "Is that you Megufu?"

"Who are you? Quick before I strike you down!"

"It's me!" she responded, "Me Raga… somehow I knew you'd have fled here"

"How did you find me? What's going on?" he demanded searching and squinting through the darkness to try and see.

"I've dropped my torch in the lake… I can't see a thing!" she stuttered

"Head towards the light," replied Megufu

He heard footsteps in the darkness stumbling on stones. The noise of footsteps carefully moved round the edge of the lake until he could see her a bow slung across her back.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to find you! There's enforcers everywhere looking for you. They asked me where you were and I replied I hadn't seen you"

"Why?"

"Megufu what have you don't that's so bad? Why are they trying to catch you?"

"I haven't done anything wrong!" insisted Megufu forcefully keeping her away with the sword, "They think I'm the one who robbed the museum"

"What are you talking about?"

"Never mind. Do you know the way out? Are there enforcers here in the cave?"

"Yes I do and … no there are no enforcers here. They moved on in the night. I used to come here to fish in the lake until it became too dangerous"

"What do you mean?"

"There's a monster down here. A creature that causes the quakes"

"What sort of monster?"

"I don't know – like nothing I've ever seen before. It's a statue … a big rock statue. I always used to fish out of its hand but one day while I was there the eye opened and… and I never returned until today"

"You know the way out though?"

"Yes…"

Megufu was silent and rested the sword by his side.

"What is that sword you have? It's amazing!" said Raga staring at it.

Megufu had forgotten completely about the supernatural nature of the objects he was carrying. He looked at it and tried to think of an answer.

"It doesn't matter," he said at length. He was curious. There was something about what she said that made him all the more curious.

"Where is this statue?"

"Across the far side of the lake," she replied, "The entrance is on the way"

"Lets go then… lets get out of here"


	24. Lights in the Dark

Chapter24: Lights in the dark

The lake was very close to the walls of the cavern. There were strange ripples in the water of unusual fish and strange creatures that Megufu had never seen in his life. Raga led the way and they crept carefully sticking as close as possible to the walls. Raga tried her best to go the right way but it was difficult with just the light of the dragoon spirit. He would have to explain to her once they got out into the open.

"This is the turning," she said at last, "This leads to an opening in a forest"

"Come to think of it we could have crawled up my tunnel," said Megufu looking back to the distant glimmer of morning light across the waves.

"There was an opening back there?"

"That's how I got it," said Megufu, "But I had to crawl"

The cave rumbled and the walls shook suddenly but not as much as before. Again the noise of gentle splashing started up again as the small pebbles and rocks fell from the roof down into the lake. It was more a quiet tremor than the huge crack of noise it had been before.

"Was that…?"

"Yes I think so," whispered Raga, "We should leave"

"What does it look like? The statue?"

"I don't know," she replied quietly, "As I said I left when I saw the eye open. Maybe I imagined it opening"

"Can you show it to me?"

"The statue? No… no I couldn't"

"Why not?"

"I don't want to go back there again. I ran for my life last time. I don't ever want to go through that again… it was enough coming back to this place"

"Please take me. I need to see it for myself"

"I…"

"Please just a glimpse"

She looked twice both ways down the tunnel and to the far side of the lake and then looked at the glowing light in her hand. She took a deep breath, "Only if you tell me exactly what that light is and what that sword you are carrying is… and… what your story is with no lies"

Megufu paused looking at the sword. He didn't even know what the sword was himself so that would be slightly easier. She was a hermit after all. Whatever he told her would stay with her to her lonely grave.

"Alright," he replied.

"Follow me…" she quivered, "But don't touch it. Just look at it… then we must go"

"Agreed," he responded and they set off again round the lake. The path widened out as the lake receded a bit. There was certainly something in this place. Megufu felt he needed to know what it was. As a dragoon he somehow felt a need to know what this monster was.

Raga stopped and began to climb up some rocks.

"Where are you going?" asked Megufu, "Don't we continue round the lake?"

"It's up here. It looks out on the lake," she replied, "You can get a better view and we won't have to go quite so close"

"You are really that afraid of it?"

"You would be too if you had been fishing in its hand," she replied.

The ground was very rocky when they reached the top. They continued walking across the higher level into Megufu could see it – a dark shape huge and strange and unnatural in the cave. It certainly wasn't naturally formed.

"What is that?" whispered Megufu. The head was a huge dark shape that is if it could be said to be a head. The shape was smooth all round and out across the water a huge hand with sharp spiked fingers clawed the palm facing upwards.

"Is that where you fished from?"

"Yes," she replied, "It's the only place in the cave I could get to the deep water from"

Megufu started walking, "Don't go any closer!" she hissed. Megufu stood still and turned to her, "Why not?"

"Just don't"

"Ok…" he replied.

A finger moved. Megufu turned back to look but he missed it. It looked as lifeless as ever.

"You wanted to know what this stone is?" asked Megufu

"Yes," she replied, "I've never seen anything like it"

"Have you heard of Meru?"

"Yes," she replied, "I asked you that before remember? She's a dragoon"

"Yes I know…" he replied, "So am I. This is a dragoon spirit"

She was silent in the darkness. He turned to face her.

"Prove it!" she said cynically.

"No," he replied, "Not here"

Reaching into his pockets he took hold of the purple dragoon spirit and brought it out to show her.

"This is the dragoon spirit of the thunder dragon," he said holding it up. It glimmered slightly in the darkness but did nothing more. She looked at it and held out her hand to touch but Megufu quickly took it away, "Don't touch!" he insisted.

"Why?"

"Just don't… I can't allow anyone to touch them," he said putting it away. Carefully he took out the earth dragoon spirit.

"This is the dragoon spirit of the earth dragon," he said holding it out. All at once the stone burst into bright brown and orange light as bright as Megufu's own spirit. In answer he felt his own spirit shine more.

"What's going on?" he whispered gazing at it. Slowly he opened his palm and watched as the light intensified.

"It's beautiful!" said Raga. As if the world itself had been made with no gravity but the soul will of the gods alone the stone rose up through the air out of Megufu's hands and came down in Raga's.

"I don't believe it," he whispered

She closed her palms around it, "What's happening?" she asked quivering on the spot.

"It's yours! Don't you see? Soa…"

"Mine?"

"The dragoon spirit has chosen you. You are the dragoon of the earth"

"What?"

"Go on transform! Become a dragoon!" insisted Megufu.

"But… I… I don't know how!" she replied looking at the light in amazement.

"No," replied Megufu, "You are right you don't"

Taking up his own spirit he burst into bright light and transformed with a flash into the darkness dragoon. As a dragoon he could feel her presence now next to the spirit.

"Of course it was you," he said, "How could I not see that you would be the earth dragoon?"

"This is incredible!" she whispered.

Megufu pointed his hand forward gazing at her light, "Arise dragoon of the Earth dragon"

Immediately the light grew bursting out and glimmering on the waves. The fingers of the monster clenched suddenly with a snapping noise of rock. The eye opened a bright green gem in the center. It was a monster that had been hidden for a very long time. Time was meaningless to it.

Wings and armor surrounded her yet differently to Kongal. Somehow she did not look at all as strong when compared to the massive shape of Kongal. The emphasis of her earthly power showed a different aspect of the element. She was magic strong. The bow glowed with an earthly fire, burning arrows appearing in her hand out of thin air.

The creature moved and Megufu turned in shock to see the creature leap up smashing the rocks either side of it. The ground shook a huge crack rearing towards them it moved in-between Megufu's feet and away up the cavern wall.

"It's the monster!" exclaimed Raga amazed at the armour, which now surrounded her body. Jumping up the giant creature flew far away across the lake and hovered in the centre where it turned to face them.

"The dragoon spirits!" said Megufu to himself, "They must have awoken it!"

Hovering a white piercing light started to glow on the green gem of the creature.

"Fly!" insisted Megufu and both took to the sky in opposite directions Raga unsure of how to. A bright beam of laser light slammed into the rocky ground they had been standing on and shattered it crashing down into the lake below like a landslide.

"Why are you attacking us?" shouted Megufu

There was no response.

"Megufu!" called Raga, "I feel dizzy… I can't … stay like this"

"Use your bow!" he roared, "Get an arrow or two in the damn thing!"

Swiping the sword it burst into a bright yellow and he charged the monster.


	25. Ancient one

Chapter25: Ancient one

The white monster was incredibly mobile and swerved fiercely to one side as Megufu lunged towards its position. He attacked again, and again the monster leaped aside and counter attacked smashing Megufu into the waves below. The blow was much less painful than he had expected it to be. The dragoon armour protected him from the greater part of the shock and the waves cushioned his fall.

Under the waves Megufu saw a bright ray of orange light strike the monster hard to the extent that it roared in pain causing the cavern walls to shake. Raga had fired an arrow. Megufu blew out the little air he had left to stop him inhaling water and rushed up, taking a breath as he left the waves he attacked with the sword slashing a great scar across the monster's white chest. The sword it seemed would cut through almost anything.

He swiped again but the monster caught the sword with its hand. This was a mistake as Megufu only pushed harder until it sliced through severing two clawed fingers into the lake below. The other hand came thrashing round and smacked Megufu hard in the air. It sent him flying and seeing stars spinning he slowed upside down his feet rested briefly on the cavern roof before he was able to gain his bearings, panting hard he watched as the world kept spinning. He realized only just in time that the monster was about to fire its laser at him. The blast shot forward and he pushed off of the ceiling and hurtled again into the waves below. The blast brought a huge amount of rock fall down into the waves. One rock smacked into him and almost brought him down to the bottom if he hadn't wriggled out of the current. Leaving the waves he looked up in shock to see Raga attack with glowing fists. The monster blocked with its wounded arms but failed to stop a spinning kick into its head. Taking out the bow she would have shot it directly if it hadn't struck her down. She screamed hitting the cavern wall and sank to the ground on one knee.

The Virage advanced on her mercilessly but Megufu turned on it from behind. Hands glowing with black darkness he fired a bolt that struck the monster in the back and burned with a black and blue flame. It struggled on towards Raga floating through the air like a dream of doom.

Megufu rushed forward the sword in hand preparing a magic enhanced blow that would cut the darkness wound even deeper; the monster however, had reactions of its own and could sense that the end was coming closer, and not from its front. It turned at lightning speed and swiping with its good hand grabbed Megufu round the waste. He dropped the sword that clanged on the rocky ground below half in the water. The claws began to squeeze scraping against the armour. He gaped in pain unable to make a sound. The same bright light appeared on the monster's gem preparing to fire as if saying, "I'll take you with me".

He was dropped suddenly and the beam missed arching over the roof. Raga slumped to the ground and returned to her mortal form clutching the bow, blood running down her head and hand. She coughed twice and fell to the ground her hands digging into the dirt as if she were worried that the ground itself might fall away, her mouth brining up blood. She had saved him.

Megufu wasted no time and flying down swung himself round the creature's leg. He attacked it from behind punching hard he broke something sending a crack across the monster's knee cap. It fell towards the waves. Grabbing the sword from the ground he brought the sword up in an uppercut as the beast fell and severed the head from its body. It fell with a crash into the waves and sank deep into the mud slowly and surely until there was nothing left to see. Bubbles rose and fish and strange creatures fled in either direction trying to escape.

He flew over to Raga and transformed out of the armour he fell on his hands and knees beside her. Both of them were bleeding in several places. He extended a hand to her, "Give me your hand!" he said and she did. They stood to their feet and watched as the bubbles and ripples subsided in the water.

"I told you so…" she said as soft as a mouse. She coughed again and the two of them staggered away across the rocky cavern walls. The magic sword hung limp dragging across the ground.

"You did," he replied, "but you did well"

She didn't respond. She was too weak.

"You are stronger than you look," he said as they staggered away.

"Its this way," she whispered pointing. They walked down the passageway and through the darkness.

Megufu held the sword in front with its limited light. Raga took out the stone which glowed dimly as if it too were exhausted and gave some light. It was no longer so necessary now as there was a light from outside at the end of the tunnel.

"What was that?" said Megufu

"I don't know," she responded.

"Do you have any potions on you?" asked Megufu pragmatically

"Nothing… nothing at all"

"Words cannot describe…" breathed Megufu tiredly, "How those words do not make me feel any better…"

They staggered out into the light where Raga collapsed onto the grass. Megufu sat down opposite and cringed in pain as he sat down. Light beamed in through the tree tops of the forest. Birds were singing a morning tune.

"Is anything broken?" he asked Raga

"I don't think so," she wheezed, "And you?"

"I haven't noticed anything," he responded, "Except for pain"

"What are we going to do?"

"We need to find somewhere to heal," he replied

"We can't stagger all the way back to the shack"

"We may have to"

"Can you fly there?"

"No…" replied Megufu, "I used up everything I had against that creature. I will have to rest before I transform again"


End file.
